“Generosity of staff and students” sees Coleg Cambria raise £89k for Wales Air Ambulance

Staff and students from Coleg Cambria are celebrating after raising over £89,000 for Wales Air Ambulance.

Representatives from across the College’s sites came together at a special celebration where they were able to hand over a staggering £89,000 which they have raised over the last academic year for their chosen charity of the year, Wales Air Ambulance.

During the evening the college announced that its chosen charity for 2017-2018 will be the NSPCC.

Each year Coleg Cambria adopts a charity to support, during which students and staff pledge to raise funds for through many different activities. Over the past twelve months a number of creative and physically challenging tasks took place across all Cambria sites including marathons, hiking challenges, gruelling bike rides, bake-offs, bag packing, hair shaving, and many more.

The cheque was presented to Wales Air Ambulance by Coleg Cambria Chief Executive, David Jones OBE on behalf of all those who have contributed to the fundraising activities. He thanked staff and students for raising such a magnificent sum over the last year:

“The amount raised over the last academic year for WAA is truly amazing. It highlights the huge effort that our students and staff put into the causes we adopt,” David said.

“We are also extremely excited that we have adopted the NSPCC as our nominated charity for 17/18 and look forward once again this year to embark on a whole host of events and challenges.

“At Cambria we aim to provide more than just education and training; we encourage students to become true citizens who get involved in their local community and help others. By taking part in fundraising activities, students gain new skills and increase their self-confidence.

“I am truly proud of the generosity of our students and staff, who freely give their time, money and commitment to raise increasingly large sums of money for charity.”

Wales Air Ambulance Fundraising Manager Anna Evans said: “The support from staff and students at Coleg Cambria has been phenomenal.

“The motivation and passion didn’t stop once, and as a result we’ve had a year packed full of creative and brilliant fundraising ideas – from a 22 mile swim challenge, to climbing Snowdon with a bath tub! Everyone had their own ideas and it’s been an honour to be a part of it all.

“It is thanks to this immense fundraising drive that we are able to fund more lifesaving missions across Wales.”

Staff and students at Coleg Cambria raise thousands of pounds for charities every year through their extensive programme of fundraising events, and are now busy planning innovative and gruelling challenges, determined to raise money for the new charity of the year NSPCC.

Beccy Grundy, Community Fundraising Manager, North Wales & Welsh Borders said: “NSPCC Cymru Wales is delighted to be Coleg Cambria’s chosen charity for the coming year and we look forward to working with everyone.

“This is a wonderful opportunity to work together and we greatly appreciate the support from staff and students that this adoption will give to create awareness and support for our services for children and young people.

“This adoption will directly benefit our services based in Prestatyn, which include our Speak Out, Stay Safe Schools programme and Childline, which support children and young people across North Wales.”