Yorkshire Air Ambulance hit the road with brand-new promotional vehicles.

Life-saving emergency services charity, the Yorkshire Air Ambulance (YAA) have welcomed two brand-new, hi-tech promotional fundraising vehicles to their fleet and Yorkshire Freemasons are proud to have pledged support for one of them.

The two Fiat Ducato vehicles have been specially designed and built to allow the YAA fundraising teams to take a state-of-the-art educational supporter experience out on the road and into communities. 

Equipped with interactive technology, the vehicles feature a replica cockpit from their H145 helicopters, with screens showing aerial footage of the views the crews experience whilst flying in the air ambulance helicopters.  Also featuring in the vehicles are screens for presentations and interviews with the crew, interactive iPads for an immersive user experience and a seating area where supporters can chat with YAA staff and volunteers.
The outside of the vehicles has been wrapped with distinctive YAA branding, meaning the  vehicles are instantly recognisable. The support of Yorkshire Freemasons is visible for all to see.

Peter Sunderland, Chairman of the YAA commented: “These two new promotional vehicles mark a significant advancement in our educational and fundraising experiences, but have only been made possible due to the generous support from both B.Braun Medical and the Yorkshire Freemasons.  We genuinely cannot express our thanks enough to them to make all this possible.  The new vehicles will be key to our future community fundraising and educational activities.  They will help us pave the way for a new immersive style of interacting with the public and our supporters, which we hope will engage both new and established supporters alike and will showcase our life-saving work across the Yorkshire region.”

West Riding Masonic Charities Ltd Chairman, Stuart Cadman, explained that they were providing the funds jointly with neighbouring province, Yorkshire North and East and said, “We are really pleased and delighted to be part of the YAA promotional vehicle project at a time when many charitable and community initiatives and fund-raising have been impacted by the effects of COVID-19.  The YAA is at the very heart of our community as it continues to help save lives throughout Yorkshire and Yorkshire Freemasons, through the generosity of our members, are proud to be able to continue our support for this vital emergency service.”

Watch the YAA promotional video at https://vimeo.com/487219075/74632dec90

After an initial planned launch this summer, the project has been severely delayed due to the unimaginable impact COVID-19 has had on both the YAA and the nation as a whole.  The charity are hoping that they will be able to start utilising the vehicles in local communities in Spring/Summer next year when the impact of COVID-19 starts to safely subside and are following national government guidance and advice.

The region’s Freemasons are long standing supporters of YAA having supported the rapid response charity since 2007.  A £20,000 donation enabled the purchase of an additional pair of Night Vision Goggles in 2017, to enable the charity to fly later into the evenings and during hours of darkness.

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