“Taking on this role has allowed me to engage with a wide variety of people. Hearing their stories and experiences of loved ones, family or friends that the charity has made a difference to totally inspires me to keep doing more.”
An integral part of our team at the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) are our amazing community fundraisers, who work behind the scenes to coordinate, administrate and encourage fundraising activity. Being a community fundraiser means getting out into the local area and raising the profile of our charity on many levels.
Meet Deborah Usher, who works as a community fundraiser in Cumbria. Deborah was a valuable GNAAS volunteer for a year before she progressed onto her current role with us.
Read about Deborah’s story here:
“As a volunteer for GNAAS, my role involved a variety of tasks aimed at supporting the organisation’s life-saving work. I was also still working full-time in the NHS, so my volunteering time was limited but I didn’t let that stop me!
I mainly volunteered at bucket collections in supermarkets and town centres, as well as attending stall events such as agricultural shows and local fetes where I would sell branded merchandise.
My time was often spent engaging with the public and informing them about the charity. I feel that raising awareness is such an important part of fundraising, as a volunteer or a staff member.
I went on to apply for the role of community fundraiser for GNAAS because of the amazing work I had seen the charity do, saving lives and making a difference to families and communities in my local area in Cumbria.
I knew I wanted to be a part of making that difference and becoming a community fundraiser meant I could assist in doing just that.
The progression from volunteering to becoming staff was such an amazing experience. I got to see what happens behind the scenes and the amount of planning that goes into making fundraising a success was so much more than I expected!
In my role as community fundraiser, I feel I have a sense of responsibility to the charity. I keep the service running through the fundraising events I arrange.
I am always doing something! That could be a bucket collection, stall events, placing new collection boxes in the community or giving school or community talks. I also do cheque presentations and air base visits for ex-patients or fundraising supporters and occasionally attend large events organised by the charity or a supporter or group.
I thoroughly enjoy my role even though it’s different to my role as a volunteer. When I was volunteering, I didn’t feel that responsibility as much, but I still love it just the same.
Taking on this role has allowed me to engage with a wide variety of people. Hearing their stories and experiences of loved ones, family or friends that the charity has made a difference to totally inspires me to keep doing more.”
Isn’t Deborah just incredible!
We couldn’t do what we do without our amazing volunteers and community fundraisers and we’re truly grateful for all the hard work they put in.
Want to make a difference too? Click here to find out how you can be a volunteer at GNAAS.
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