VOLUNTEERS who help respond to 999 calls and assist ambulance crews in Coventry have received a donation of more than £1,600.
The Heart of England Co-operative Society has awarded £1,670 to the Coventry Community Responders (CCR).
It is the first donation received by the CCR – a registered charity – since before the first lockdown in March last year.
Chair Mark Tolan said: “It has been tough – but we are looking forward to a good year this year. We have a quite a good number of people who are waiting to join us – this has probably been helped by the pandemic with people being put on furlough and using that time to give something back.
“We have people who are hoping to start their training early in 2021, and are looking to recruit at least six or more volunteers to the team when our recruitment window opens this month.
“Once events return to normal we are looking to exhibit with more stands and to step up the fundraising. We are grateful to the Heart of England Co-operative Society for this generous donation.”
All volunteers are medically trained to a high standard by professionals at West Midlands Ambulance Service.
Each volunteer gives up at least 20 hours a month of free time on average and actively fundraise to maintain their own emergency vehicle as well as uniforms and life-saving emergency treatment kit including a defibrillator.