Following the incredible patient story of Ella McGuigan, she and her family decided that they would like to fundraise for Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance as a way of saying thank you. Ella’s mum Veronica tells us more.

We really wanted to do some fundraising but didn’t really know what we wanted to do. St Patrick’s Day was looming and given that we come from an Irish background and have many Irish dancers in the family, we saw this as an opportunity. Ella and I attend St Anthony’s Catholic Church in West Moors and she has become well-known in the parish.

The church normally has a St Patrick’s evening dance, but due to the pandemic this has not been held since 2019. I, along with Miriam Mckenna (Treasurer of the church), approached them and asked whether they would consider raising funds at the evening for the air ambulance. Fr Anthony very kindly agreed. The evening went really well and we managed to raise £1,251.20, which included many kind donations from family and friends and fantastic support from businesses in the area for raffle prizes.

After the event had taken place, Miriam informed her employer (Nationwide Building Society) of our fundraising efforts and after making an application to their match funding scheme, we were delighted to receive an extra £100, bringing our total to £1,351.20.