7 Aug 2025
After personally receiving care from London’s Air Ambulance’s expert team, James fundraised over £1,200 by organising his own horse racing evening.
Showing old recordings of horse races, guessing who the winner would be, nearly 100 of James’ family, friends and football team came together to raise vital funds for London’s Air Ambulance Charity.
The event was held at The Dog and Duck in Winchmore Hill – the pub that sponsors James’ football team – which was soon full of people cheering and enjoying themselves.
“I wanted to do something different,” said James. “I also wanted it to be something everyone could do.
“It was really good fun and the total went up quick. People see other people winning and then they give more – it felt like a really good way to raise money for the charity.”
Our advanced trauma team treated James when he was stabbed in the heart in October 2024. We attended in a rapid response car and provided life-saving interventions on scene, before transporting him to The Royal London Hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery and remained in intensive care for weeks.
“I’m still recovering, it’s a long road and I’m still in and out of hospital at the moment,” said James. “But when I’m ready, I’m definitely going to do a fundraising event with a run.
“I’m thinking of running a tour from my house to The Dog and Duck, stopping along the way and collecting friends to run with me.
“I’m just so thankful for all that London’s Air Ambulance Charity do.”
We’re thrilled to see James recover so well and appreciate all his unique fundraising ideas. If you’d like to join him in raising funds for London’s only helicopter emergency service through your own event – whatever it may be! – please reach out to our team today: [email protected].
With your support and creative ideas, we will continue to be here for London, today, tomorrow, always.