GWAAC's inaugural golf day raises over £8,500 - Great Western Air Ambulance Charity
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GWAAC’s inaugural golf day raises over £8,500

On Friday 11 October, twelve local businesses came together at Minchinhampton Golf Course to support Great Western Air Ambulance Charity’s (GWAAC) first golf day to raise money and help us continue to save lives in Gloucestershire, Bristol, Bath and beyond.

Twelve teams of four, including a GWAAC team (with Specialist Paramedic in Critical Care Mark and Critical Care Doctor Harvey both playing), battled it out on a surprisingly sunny autumn day on the par-71 Avening course, set in the beautiful rolling Cotswold hills. Featuring lakes, tree-lined fairways, bunkers and challenging greens, all the teams enjoyed the opportunity to play this course, which is often used in regional championships, but it was the Naylor/Keyline team who brought home the trophy.

Amidst the fun, over £8,500 was raised to help fund four lifesaving GWAAC missions. After the round of golf, the teams heard from former patient Simon Clark, who we attended after a serious road traffic collision in 2019. Fresh back from completing a trek to Everest Basecamp the week before, Simon shared his story and the teams got a firsthand insight into how their support could help people like Simon.

As well as hearing from Simon, the teams had a stark reminder of the important service that GWAAC provides  when they caught a glimpse of Helimed 65, our green helicopter flying overhead on its first day back. Whilst we have had stand-in’s, Helimed 65 had spent nearly three months receiving its periodical maintenance before it returned on 11 October. The crew were called to a high number of people in need of urgent critical care that day. On average, the crew attend six patients every day; on the charity golf day, they responded to ten people who needed the specialist skills of GWAAC’s crew.

As well as playing some excellent rounds of golf, a few companies went above and beyond to support GWAAC and make the event possible. GWAAC wishes to thank the silver corporate sponsors: Porsche Tewkesbury and the bronze corporate sponors: Salocin Group and Bishop Fleming.

"We’re delighted to have supported Great Western Air Ambulance Charity as a bronze sponsor of their first corporate golf day. As a B Corp certified business, at Salocin Group we believe in giving back to the community and we’re proud to contribute to such a vital service that provides lifesaving care across our local region. This event was a fantastic opportunity to not only enjoy a great day of golf as a team but to also make a meaningful impact in support of GWAAC’s critical mission." - Ben Briggs, Managing Partner of Join the Dots, Salocin Group, and winner of the Beat the Pro competition.

Whilst the crew golf team on the ground would have loved to take home the trophy, everyone was a winner thanks to the teams who turned up to play. GWAAC are lucky to have such fantastic support from our region’s generous corporate community. A huge thanks to the teams who played and event sponsors Porsche Centre Tewskbury, Salocin Group, and Bishop Flemming. Here’s to an even bigger and better GWAAC Golf Day in 2025 (and hopefully a home-win for the crew too…) - Joe Hughes, GWAAC Corporate Partnerships Manager

As we look forward to 2025, now is the time to register your interest in joining our next golf day or supporting us as your Charity of the Year. If you work for a local business that might like to support GWAAC, please get in touch at partnerships@gwaac.com