It is a common misconception that the Yorkshire Air Ambulance is government funded and falls under the NHS. This is untrue. The Yorkshire Air Ambulance is an independent charity which relies heavily on the generosity of the public & organisations to keep the service active.
It is the continued support and generosity of corporate fundraisers, community groups, event fundraisers, grants, trusts, organisations and regular donors which helps keep both of our helicopters flying over Yorkshire.
Yorkshire Air Ambulance’s longest standing partner is the Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust (YAS) who have supported our operations since our inception on 25th October 2000.
YAS supports the Yorkshire Air Ambulance in a number of ways, through medical guidance and advice, medical supplies, training and the secondment of our Paramedics and Critical Care Team Doctors. For further information about how to become a YAA Paramedic or Doctor, please visit our ‘Becoming a YAA Paramedic or Doctor‘ page.
Door knocking or charity collectors operating in Yorkshire postcodes are probably the most frequent calls we receive at charity HQ. The YAA can confirm that we do not use this tactic to fundraise nor would we ever encourage fundraisers to collect money in this way.
We often get reports that ‘door knockers’ claim to be from the ‘Air Ambulance’. We would encourage people to get clarity on exactly which Air Ambulance the collector is from in the first instance, as well as asking for official ID to prove who they are. Sometimes our supporters give a donation to these people and later discover it was in fact another organisation and not the YAA.
The Yorkshire Air Ambulance operates a very successful clothing recycling scheme in partnership with Recycling Solutions.
We always encourage our supporters to deposit their clothing recycling in these banks – Recycling Solutions do not offer a door to door collection service, so if anyone posts recycling bags through your letterbox claiming to be from the YAA and offering a collection service, they will not be for our charity.
It is against the YAA Fundraising Policy for any member of our team to cold call our supporters asking for donations. We would always advise that you check which Air Ambulance has called you should you ever receive such a call.
The YAA does not send out blanket mailings. We never send letters asking for donations, nor do we share our donor data with other organisations or use databases supplied by third parties for any of our fundraising activities. We adhere to the Data Protection Act 2018 and follow strict GDPR guidelines.
There is often some confusion from our supporters about the Children’s Air Ambulance. The ChAA are a completely separate charitable organisation to us, and they fundraise independently. The ChAA are a neonatal and infant transfer service, whereas the YAA are a HEMS provider (Helicopter Emergency Medical Service) and we respond to both adult and children emergency 999 calls.
The Children’s Air Ambulance are based in Coventry.
The HELP Appeal is operated by County Air Ambulance Trust who are a separate organisation to the YAA. They are raising funds to help build and update helipads across the UK. Some helipads in the Yorkshire region have benefited from the HELP Appeal funding.
Cayley House,
10 South Lane
Elland
HX5 0HQ
T: 01422 237900
E: info@yaa.org.uk
YAA Registered Charity No. 1084305.
