Stunning Heli Dinner raises vital funds towards future missions

120 people attended our first Heli Dinner at Tregonce Barn in St Issey last Sunday evening (17^th July) with a big thanks to Rachel and Sam Bishop at Trevear Farm and Daphnae Skinnard for compering the evening.

The event which was led by one of Cornwall Air Ambulance Trust’s ambassadors, Dr Karen Dickens and supported by the Philanthropy Forum, raised £82,000 for Cornwall Air Ambulance Trust. Guests were treated to a stunning 7 course meal followed by an auction, raffle and an opportunity to fund fuel for a mission. The event began with a talk from Air Operations Officer, Steve Garvey who gave an overview on what it was like working for the Trust whilst also reflecting on his work in attending missions across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

Cornwall Air Ambulance Trust’s CEO, Tim Bunting said ‘What a fantastic evening and it was great to see people coming together to get behind Cornwall Air Ambulance Trust in a truly remarkable way. We are extremely grateful to everyone who played their part in either donating money or prizes for us to sell in our auction and for those who generously came along and helped fund some of our future missions. It was amazing to see so many people motivated with a single aim of helping us in our mission of saving lives. I would like to thank Dr Karen Dickens and the Philanthropy Forum including Jonathan McCulloch, Jackie Stanley and Karen Hurn for leading this amazing event. Every pound raised from the Heli Dinner will help us continue funding over 1,100 missions every year for those people who need critical care support across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.’ 

Dr Karen Dickens who led the event said ‘I would like to thank the many people who came together to make this such a special occasion. We appreciate all those who came along to the Heli Dinner, donating their time and money with 100% of every penny raised going directly to Cornwall Air Ambulance Trust – and helping towards the £5 million plus that needs to be raised each year to run its services. I am extremely proud of everyone who played their part in making this event such a success.’

An incredible thanks to the following:

The generosity of Rachel & Sam Bishop of Trevear Farm – we had the perfect location. It took an amazing team to put it together from planning to working around the clock last week – so many thanks to our incredible Chefs, Helping Hands & Pans, Jackie Stanley, Karen Hurn, Jonathan McCulloch, Nikki Edwards, Moonlight Venue Solutions, Tracy Farrell, David Withers, Beau Sala, Wendy McCulloch, UK Productions, Blue Radish and Steve Williams.

We can’t thank our wonderful chefs enough for their support and delivering the most incredible menu on Sunday Stephane Delourme, Henk De Villiers Ferreira, Andrew Sullivan, Andrew Tuck, Eddy Rains, Jack Clements, Jamie Patrick Porter andTimothy Kendall together with their teams and Helping Hands and Pans for delivering incredible service. Thanks to Comitti Boats UK & Caribbean, Duchy Game, George Cleave Fish Merchant, Jackie Stanley, Kepak, Rodda’s Cornish Clotted Cream, Sharp’s Brewery, St Ewe Free Range Eggs, The Drunken Jockeys, Southern England Farms, Sparkenhoe Leicestershire Handmade Cheese, Tintagel Duck Farm, Metzendorf, Total Produce FoodService, Rick Stein Restaurants for their generous donations of produce and drinks.

Steve Garvey brought tears to most eyes with his incredible description of his role as a paramedic with the Cornwall Air Ambulance with St Dennis Band – Cornwall Darren R. Hawken providing the perfect pre-dinner entertainment and the wonderful Daphne Skinnard our compare and auctioneer for the evening. Thanks for donations of auction items, raffle prizes and other items to Comitti Boats UK & Caribbean, Clarendon Fine Art, Sherree Valentine Daines, Clifford’s Joinery,Frost of London, Iconic Hotel, Kernow Land Girls, Kurt Jackson Contemporary Artist, Lord Rothschild, Metzendorf, Olga Polizzi, Hotel Tresanton, Radley London, The Goring Hotel, Old Custom House, Padstow and The Flower Shed.

Also thanks to: