A charity ball in Carlisle has raised over £30,000 in support of the regions air ambulance service.
The money raised is enough to back seven missions for the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS).
The charity event, held at The Halston, was attended by more than 160 guests including supporters, businesses, patients, and staff from the charity, including GNAAS’ Chief Executive Officer, David Stockton.
Guests from the ball enjoyed carnival games, circus performers, an auction with exclusive prizes, a three-course dinner, a raffle, and a disco to fundraise for the cause.
The compere was Pete Graves of Good Morning Sports Fans and Transfer Talk.
Tracey Wright, Events Lead at GNAAS, said: "Following the success of our North East ball, I am pleased to say we had a brilliant time at our ball held in Carlisle.
“We decided to go with a circus theme this year and while it wasn’t mandatory to dress for the theme, we saw a few great outfits on the night.”
A montage was shown during the event, highlighting the significant milestones that the charity has achieved this year, thanks to the public's support.
This includes GNAAS expanding their night-time service in Cumbria to four nights a week and the trial run of carrying whole blood on their aircraft and rapid response vehicles.
The evening also saw members of the critical care team paying tribute to Dr Theo Weston MBE, who is retiring from GNAAS at the end of the year.
BEEP Doctors founder Dr Weston joined GNAAS in 2004, the same year Cumbria’s first dedicated air ambulance was launched.
Mrs Wright said: “It was definitely an emotional part of the night. Theo has been working for GNAAS for 20 years, and in that time, he has made such an impact on the lives of people in Cumbria. Despite not knowing about the surprise, Theo delivered a lovely speech, and he received a well-deserved standing ovation.”
GNAAS has launched a raffle with a top prize of £10,000 to help cover rising service demand, as it doesn't receive any government funding, costing £8.5 million to run the service annually.
Raffle tickets costing £1 are now on sale at gna.as/raffle_2023
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