A SOLIHULL man has raised a fantastic £3,332 for the lifesaving Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance (WNAA).
In 2018, Dave Whitehouse suffered a cardiac arrest while playing a round of golf at The Belfry in Sutton Coldfield.
The Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance was dispatched and flew to Dave’s aid, and he credits the critical care crew onboard with saving his life.
Since his incident, Dave, director at Birmingham-based Pure Staff Ltd, wanted to raise funds for the service and came up with the idea to return to The Belfry to complete four rounds of golf – 72 holes – in one day.
“I was determined to raise some money for the charity that saved my life, and I felt there was no better way to do it than to return to the place where they attended to me,” he said.
“Four rounds of golf in one day was obviously a big challenge, but I believed that the support I would get from that would help me reach my target for the charity.”
With one mission costing the charity £1,700, Dave set his fundraising target at £3,000. His fundraising was going well until, unfortunately, a setback meant that he had to postpone the event.
However, due to the generosity of his supporters, he was still able to raise £865 through his Virgin Money fundraising page, and in a striking act of generosity, his Pure Staff Ltd colleagues donated a further £2,367.
This amounted to £3,232, which exceeded Dave’s initial target, and since presenting the charity with the cheque, a further donation took the final amount to a fantastic £3,332.
“I was very disappointed when I found I had to postpone the event, but I was fortunate that people were happy for their donation to still come to the vital air ambulance.
“I am very grateful to the critical care team that attended to me after my cardiac arrest and also to everyone who supported me – especially my colleagues at Pure Staff for their very generous donation.
“I look forward to being able to complete the challenge – hopefully next year.”
Community fundraising executive for the charity, Lee Bunting adds: “I love the passion people have for raising money for our charity, and it’s always a humbling experience when I get the opportunity to meet with a patient and hear their story.
“Dave’s recovery from his cardiac arrest has been an excellent one, and to then go and raise money for us by going back to where the incident occurred is a very brave one.”
For anyone wishing to learn more about the charity, visit: www.theairambulanceservice.org.uk
