Cash boost for Wales Air Ambulance

The Wales Air Ambulance Charity has received a £1,000 donation from a Swansea-based business.

The donation was made by the Amazon fulfilment centre in Swansea. The money will be used to help keep the charity’s helicopters in the air and rapid response vehicles on the road.

Wales Air Ambulance is consultant-led, taking hospital-standard treatments to patients and if required, transferring them directly to the most appropriate hospital for their illness or injury.

The service is delivered via a unique third-sector and public-sector partnership. The Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service (EMRTS) supplies highly skilled NHS consultants and critical care practitioners who work on board the charity’s vehicles.

This advanced critical care includes the ability to administer anaesthesia, deliver blood transfusions and conduct minor operations, all at the scene of an incident.

As a pan-Wales service, its dedicated crews, regardless of where they are based, will travel the length and breadth of the country to deliver emergency lifesaving care. The Wales Air Ambulance Charity relies on donations to raise the £11.2 million required every year to maintain the helicopter and rapid response vehicle operation.

Following the donation, members of Amazon’s Swansea team paid a visit to the Dafen airbase of the Wales Air Ambulance where they met with clinicians and a pilot.

Speaking about the donation, the charity’s Regional Fundraising Manager, Christian Sullivan, said: “We want to extend a huge thank you to Amazon in Swansea for their incredible support. Funds like this are vitally important and help us raise the money we need to run our lifesaving service.

“It was wonderful to welcome some members of the team to our Dafen base so they could meet the clinicians and pilot and learn more about the work we do.”

Darrell George is the General Manager’s Assistant at Amazon in Swansea. He said: “We have supported the Wales Air Ambulance over several years. We ask our team which charities they would like to benefit from our charitable giving, and a donation is then made as a show of appreciation for the incredible work done by the chosen organisation. On this occasion, that goes to the clinicians and pilots of Wales Air Ambulance.

“We were all excited about coming to the base to see the helicopter and meet the crew. I couldn’t believe how small the cockpit was. It’s so snug in there and they’ve got to fit in so much equipment. Wales Air Ambulance travels the length and breadth of Wales and must conduct procedures in the most difficult situations. You cannot help but be in awe – it’s a phenomenal service.”

Amazon in Swansea plans to continue supporting Wales Air Ambulance in 2025.

Community donations and employee volunteering are just two of the ways Amazon supports the communities where it operates. Amazon co-founded the Multibank initiative with former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown to support families in need. ‘Cwtch Mawr’ Multibank opened in Swansea in 2024, with Faith in Families. The initiative has donated more than 7 million surplus goods to over 600,000 families across Wales, Scotland, Greater Manchester, London, Tees Valley and Birmingham.

Amazon has supported more than one million students across the UK with free STEM education programmes through Amazon Future Engineer and helps community organisations transport meals and other essentials to families in need through its pro bono logistics programme, Amazon Local Good.

Amazon partners with Comic Relief and is the official home of the charity’s iconic Red Nose. Together with its employees, customers, and partners, Amazon has raised over £4.8 million to fund projects that support people across the UK, and around the world.