Newport First Responders smash £20,000 target 18 months ahead of schedule
The people of Newport have smashed a £20,000 fundraising target in just seven months, ensuring the town will get a new lifesaving First Responders vehicle.
Those behind the appeal said the target had been reached almost 18 months ahead of schedule – meaning the town will have a newly-manufactured car later this year.
Individuals, businesses and clubs around the town have contributed to the campaign led by Newport Rotary Lite to raise the money to replace the existing emergency response vehicle, which has required expensive repairs - and also failed to start in the case of an emergency.
The news was announced by Les Goodchild, president of Newport Rotary Lite, and Russell Brooks, Newport Community First Responders Scheme coordinator.
Mr Goodchild said: “This is terrific news for Newport. When Newport Rotary Lite launched this appeal we thought it would take up to two years to raise our £20,000 target, but the support from individuals, businesses and many clubs around Newport has meant we have achieved it in record breaking time.
“We knew the clock was ticking on the current vehicle – it failed to start for an emergency when we did a street collection in December and has broken down again since. Only last week it cost the First Responders £1,300 to get the head gasket repaired. We knew they needed a vehicle fit for Newport.”
Mr Goodchild said that raising the money months in advance of the target had been down to a team effort.
He said: “Every one of our 32 members has been involved, and we have had so much support from the Newport community.
“It’s really brought people together. And we’re hoping to repeat some of our events – like Santa touring Newport – later in the year”.
Mr Brooks said “This is a stunning success. We’ve managed to raise about £3,000 a year for the last 10 years to run the service, but the Newport Rotary Lite appeal has raised an amazing £21,000 in only seven months. They have helped us – and the town – so much. This would not have happened without them.
“We’ve also just been successful with a bid for £10,000 from the National Lottery which we’ll combine with the successful appeal. This means for the first time ever Newport will have a new First Responder vehicle with exactly the specification we need for an area like ours.
“This will be more reliable, have much better performance and be much cheaper to run.
“We can also get the right vehicle at an excellent price and use any remaining funds to keep the service on the road.”
Mr Goodchild said: “It will take several months for the vehicle to be manufactured – it is made to an emergency services specification – and then complex telemetrics and other fitting-out needs to be done. We will keep everyone posted on progress.
“We are closing the Newport Rotary Lite First Responder Vehicle Appeal with a huge ‘thank you’ to the people, clubs and businesses of Newport – we’ve done what we can, but this has been a brilliant community-wide effort.
“We would like to encourage everyone to keep supporting the responders. They are all volunteers who get called to ten 999 calls a week across Newport and it costs £3,000 a year to keep the vehicle on the road. Very soon they will have a vehicle fit for Newport, and it’s in all our interests to make sure they have the funding to keep running it. Thank you Newport.”
