Air ambulance flying high after Wilko renews charity support

Wilko stores across the county have renewed their pledge to support Yorkshire Air Ambulance, after raising more than £130,000 for the life-saving charity last year.

During 2012/13, staff at 18 Wilko stores completed a range of fundraising events and activities to help Yorkshire’s helicopter heroes.

Their efforts brought in a staggering £131,630 for the independent rapid response charity, which needs to raise £9,900 each day to keep its two aircraft flying.

Wilko team members have once again voted to support Yorkshire Air Ambulance (YAA) as their chosen charity and stores from York to Wakefield have already started their fundraising drive.

Kerry Garner, YAA Regional Fundraiser, said:

We have enjoyed a fantastic year of fundraising with the Wilko stores across Yorkshire.

There have been some great fundraising events taking place and the enthusiasm from all the stores has been wonderful. To raise over £131,000 is absolutely pheonomenal.

We are also delighted to hear that the teams have chosen us for a second year of fundraising and we look forward to working with them again to raise vital funds to help keep both of our helicopters in the air and saving lives.

A family owned firm after more than 80 years of trading, JK Wilkinson opened the first Wilko store on Charnwood Street, Leicester, in 1930. The company’s portfolio has expanded significantly over the decades that have followed and there are currently 372 stores across the UK, including 10 in Scotland.

Since opening its first store, Wilko has been committed to Britain’s high streets and prides itself on being a community-focused retailer, actively supporting local charities and community groups.

Kerry Garner, YAA Regional Fundraiser (centre) with Wilko managers from left: Ang Johnson, Manager Shipley store; Cliff Hall, Regional Manager; Mark Armitage, Manager Wakefield store; Russ Halliday, Assistant Manager Brighouse store; Andrea Stead, Manager Brighouse store and Gill Turner, Manager of Wilko’s Armley store

Cliff Hall, Wilko regional manager, said:

We’ve had a wonderful year supporting YAA and we hope the grand total raised by all the stores in the region will make a real difference.

But we’re not stopping there – we can’t wait to get going with this year’s fundraising. There’s plenty of ideas in the pipeline and we hope our loyal customers will support them and see us on our way to another amazing total.