EAAA say they've got an exciting but uncertain future ahead
The charity hosted their annual roadshow in Norwich last night and looked back at the highs and lows of a difficult 12 months.
Last updated 15th Oct 2021
The East Anglian Air Ambulance say they've got an exciting but uncertain future ahead.
It comes after the charity hosted their annual roadshow in Norwich last night, which looked back at the highs and lows of a difficult 12 months.
Matthew Jones, the CEO of the charity told us that while restrictions on fundraising have ended, concerns remain: "It is still a very uncertain fundraising environment. I think the economic situation is currently very difficult to predict at the moment".
"We're probably expecting inflation to have an effect on everybody. I think that will inevitably have an effect on people's spending power, household income and the amount of free income people can spend on things and that includes charitable giving".
But he said the publics generosity means they're currently financially stable: "We have been extremely fortunate. Some parts of our fundraising activity, has been substantially down because we haven't been able to engage with our community.
"But other areas have stood remarkably well and better than we expected. We have had amazing support from gifts in wills, for example".
He went on to say the service are now looking at ways to become even more efficient and effective, on the frontline: "We've constantly innovating in this organisation, constantly moving forwards, constantly concentrating on what we can do for the patient and how we can improve outcomes".
"We've got all kind of initiatives coming up to do that, and we're going to get even more sophisticated about how we go about that problem-solving. I think it's going to be very exciting upcoming year, in that regard".
Mr Jones concluded by telling us he's pleased with how the charity have handle a difficult eighteen months: "In a week where the Government are being criticised for not locking down early enough. I look back with pride that my predecessor took the decision, with the support of everybody in the executive team, to actually ask everybody to work from home more than two weeks before the national lockdown."
The charity provides potentially lifesaving Air Ambulance services to people in Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, and Bedfordshire - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.