In 2009 and 2010, Bolton MRT were one of the named Charity Beneficiaries of the very successful annual three day Edgworth Real Ale Festival, which resulted in a substantial £12,000.00 being donated to the Bolton MRT over the two years by the ERAF.
We utilised these donations to fund the purchase of our SAR Boat, specialist clothing items for our Water Search and Rescue Unit members, and to purchase one of our three new SAR Alpine Lite MR stretchers.
To say thank you for this fantastic support the team has provided bar staff for a shift during the two festivals in 2009 and 2010 when we have been the named beneficiary. Many of the committee members have since become much valued friends to the team and it was nice at the time to have been able to support them.
The ERAF Committee support different charities each year, having raised over £40,000.00 since it first began five years ago.
This year the event is supporting two great charities; Help 4 Heroes and Great OrmondStreet Hospital. Help 4 Heroes is a charity that the team supports (see report 25th June 2011). To thank the ERAF Committee for their fantastic support of Bolton MRT during the last two years, we offered to again provide some staff for a shift working behind the bar.
Thirteen team members initially volunteered their services, however whilst some members were travelling to the event and others preparing to depart our Base / HQ, we received the call for incident 58. (see Incident Report 58). It was agreed that the six team members and one support group member who were travelling direct to the festival should continue so we would still provide some bar staff, whilst the other team members joined their colleagues responding to the incident.
Team members Paul Copley, Diane Blakeley. Naomi Horan, Kris Kilshaw, Tony Dawson, John Dickinson and Support Group member Iain Clarkson received some training before taking over the staffing of the Real Ale bars for their two hour early evening shift. Kris wins the award for failing to juggle with a pint of beer with the contents of a glass ending up all down him. As incident 58 came to an end Chris Tennant and Steve O’Hara came to the festival to add another two bar staff.
The team would like to wish the ERAF Committee every success with the rest of the festival which continues tomorrow and hopes they are able to raise large sums of money for their deserving beneficiaries.
(Please also see website ’news’ article dated 3rd February 2011)
