Staff At Law Firm’s Southampton Office Raise Money To Keep Air Ambulance Flying And Saving Lives

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance is set to benefit from a £11,000 donation from Irwin Mitchell’s Southampton office, after staff at the firm spent a year raising funds for the good cause.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance was voted for by staff at the office to be their Charity of the Year for 2017 as part of a nationwide initiative established by the Irwin Mitchell Charities Foundation (IMCF).

Established in 1997, IMCF is an independent registered charity set up by the firm which has donated more than £1.6 million to a variety of charitable causes.

Following 12 months of fundraising activities, including a campaign to raise £20,000 in a month to celebrate IMCF’s 20^th anniversary, nationally, the law firm raised a record £180,000 during 2017. In doing so, the majority of the firm’s regional offices, including Southampton, smashed their own fundraising records in the process.

The bumper donation, which is £3,500 more than staff raised in 2016, will contribute to Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance’s operational procedures to ensure the charity can continue to provide emergency response and save lives.

Money raised by Irwin Mitchell will help support people like Maisie Godden-Hall, who was involved in a serious road traffic incident shortly after celebrating her eleventh birthday in November 2016. Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance’s critical care team gave Maisie life-saving treatment at the scene before airlifting her to hospital.

Maisie’s mother, Jane Godden, said: “Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance’s critical care team brought the same level of skill and care to Maisie at the roadside as she would have received in the emergency department of a hospital. There are not enough words to thank them for what they did for Maisie that day.”

Ray Southam, corporate and community fundraiser at Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance, said: “We were thrilled to be Irwin Mitchell’s Charity of the Year for 2017. It is thanks to the support that we get from local businesses such as Irwin Mitchell that we are able to bring our advanced critical care teams to sick and injured people in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight when they need it most.

“We’re truly grateful to Irwin Mitchell staff for their commitment and dedication to helping keep the Air Ambulance flying and saving lives.”

Guy Darlaston, regional managing partner at Irwin Mitchell’s Southampton office, said:

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“It’s an honour to be able to provide this record donation to a truly fantastic cause in our local community.

“Last year we celebrated 20 years of the IMCF and I am delighted that, thanks to the creativity and generosity of Irwin Mitchell employees, we made our anniversary year a record breaking one.

“Everyone at IM is passionate about giving back to the communities we operate in and making a real difference to the lives of those supported by our Charities of the Year.

“We are incredibly proud of what we achieved last year and our staff has been spurred on to think of bigger and better ways to fundraise for this year’s good cause.” Guy Darlaston - Partner