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Welcome
Hello and thank you for visiting the League's website. We hope that
you'll find it informative and useful.
Most people have cause to thank the
Ambulance Service. At some stage in our lives we turn to them for
help, often when we are at our most vulnerable. They arrive quickly,
treat us professionally, and inspire us with confidence.
The South Central Ambulance League of
Friends supports the work of the South Central Ambulance Service NHS
Trust, by raising funds, providing equipment, conducting campaigns, and
organising events.
We do so, to enhance even further the
standard of care that patients expect and the Ambulance Service can
deliver.
Please explore
this site to discover ways in which YOU can support them.
Graham Wilson
Chair
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Shopping
One of the simplest ways of
contributing to the League is by buying almost anything through our
online shop! You've probably seen these before, but in case you
haven't...
Through the web-store provider, BUY.AT,
you can browse scores of retailers using their clever search engine to
compare products and prices. Provided that you went through one of
our links, or search with the box below, everything that you buy
generates a commission for us!
Among the retailers are Tesco,
T-mobile, John Lewis, Warner Holidays, Mothercare, Amazon, ASDA and HMV.
Just about anything that you could want to buy can can be found here.
To get to the shop, type
www.buy.at/ambulance in your
browser, click this link:
or search with the box below.
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Printer cartridge
and mobile phone recycling...
One way in
which we can raise significant sums of money is by collecting and
recycling used printer cartridges and mobile phones. Whether they're from an inkjet or laserjet printer, we can sell empty cartridges to a number of
companies - choosing the one that gives the League the best price.
Similarly, almost all mobile phones have a value that makes it
worthwhile recycling them.
Recycling makes sense. Not only does
it raise funds for the League of Friends, but it makes a big
contribution to the planet. A typical printer cartridge will take
several HUNDREDS of years to disintegrate in a land-fill!
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FACT: 30,000,000 Empty
Cartridges Are Thrown Away Each Year in the UK alone! |
All you need do is keep your cartridges once
you have replaced them. A polythene bag is good as it stops the
little electronic contacts getting damaged and avoids any unpleasant
leaks. (Leaky cartridges cost us as for each one we pass on to our
buyers, they DEDUCT the value of a good one as a penalty!)
Please tell your friends and
colleagues how important this is both to the environment and to
South Central Ambulance. Why not arrange for a collecting point in the
Post Room or by the stationery cupboard? Nowadays many managers have a
printer on their desk and another at home. Make sure they know how
important this is to you!
Once you have collected a few, pop them in a Jiffy bag and post them to us
at the address below. If you collect a large number of cartridges,
(say a 100 or so) please give us a call and we will arrange to collect them from you.
Now that mobile phones
are fashion items... There is an enormous market
for second hand ones, as well as for the recycling of components from
old phones - plastic, electronics, batteries and chargers are all valuable
commodities, that don't break up when they are buried. Most people
with a cell phone have another tucked away and yet, if anything happens to their current phone, it will be replaced
by the air-time providers anyway. So PLEASE let us have those old phones.
PLEASE don't stamp on them, or remove the keypad or battery beforehand -
this is pointless and means we have to pay to dispose of them! If
you could let us have the charger too that's even better.
Just send us an
email message and we
will let you know the nearest place to drop it off.
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Fund-raising
events...
Have you ever thought of organising a
"fund-raiser"? Whether you intend arranging a black-tie
dinner, a rock or classical concert (or any other kind of musical genre
for that matter), a sponsored run, swim or
other endurance event, we would be delighted if you would do so on our
behalf!
Please
email the Chair to discuss your
ideas and how we can help. We are registered for Gift Aid and so
can benefit from a 22% additional refund from the Tax Person!
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Community First Responders
 The
League of Friends manages the fund-raising efforts of the Ambulance
Trusts' Community First Responders* currently in the northern Division. The cost of establishing
a small group is around £6000 and there's an ongoing cost of about £1000
per annum. Groups are established according to local patient
need and this is funded initially by the Trust. Once established,
the Groups are encouraged to raise funds, at first to cover their own
costs, and then to contribute to the costs of the Scheme as a whole, so
that communities where there would be little chance of raising the £6000+
can still be included within the Scheme. All funds are banked
centrally through the League of Friends. We keep records of the
funds raised by each group and purchase the capital equipment necessary
for them to work. Responders are encouraged to become proactive
members of the League and, if appropriate, Trustees. The accounts of
the groups are maintained by us, and are presented at the Annual General
Meeting of the League along with the Charity's overall accounts.
*For information
about the South Central Ambulance Service First Responders scheme -
visit the SCA website CFR page
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Get Involved!
We welcome volunteers who can
support our ongoing activities. We urgently need help in the following roles
- Recycling Scheme
coordinator, PR coordinator, Web-shop promoter, and Gifts and Legacies
promoter. We welcome
contributions. Individuals, relatives and friends, often ask if
we are able to accept contributions sent with their thanks for the service
they've received from crews, responders and patient transport drivers.
We are very grateful for these and where-ever possible will ensure that
the individuals concerned know of the gift. For simplicity, cheques
should be made payable to "SCA LOF".
Remember us in your will. It is
easy to include the League of Friends in your will. A solicitor is
always the best source of advice on what to do. With their help your
Gift will be made efficiently, with no risk and in the most tax-beneficial
manner. They are welcome to call us to discuss the Trust's details
to make sure that there are no complications in the future.
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Our History
The Oxfordshire Ambulance Service
League of Friends was formed 27 years ago by a small group of people
keen to help the Ambulance service raise funds for the welfare of staff
and to provide high standards of equipment for their Ambulances.
Whereas most hospitals had their own
League of Friends, Oxfordshire Ambulance were the only Ambulance Service
to do so.
Over the years, their efforts have been
extraordinary and have included the provision of defibrillators,
specialist critical care transport equipment and so on.
As part of the reorganisation of the UK
Ambulance services in 2006, Oxfordshire was merged with Hampshire,
Berkshire, and Buckinghamshire to form the South Central Ambulance
Service NHS Trust.
After a period of consultation the
Trustees of the League of Friends, adopted a new name and constitution
to reflect the new area of operations of the Trust, and applied to the
Charity Commissioners for their approval of the changes. This was
formally given on the 17th August 2007.
The League is formally constituted with
a small group of Trustees operating within UK Charity law. They
consist of a Chair, members of the public, and representatives of the
Ambulance Service Trust. All positions are honorary - no Trustee
can benefit from their role with the Charity. There is also an
Honorary President.
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