Moycraig Young Farmers mark 80th anniversary with series of Air Ambulance fundraisers

The charity is close to their hearts as a previous member, Paul Morrison’s son Isaac, was a patient back in 2022.

The first event was a bed push spanning almost 30 miles. The route was from the club hall to Dervock, Ballymoney, Ballybogey, Bushmills and then back to the hall.

Rachel Smith, Club Secretary said: “Each hour new members swapped places and took their turn to push the bed. We were pleased the bed lasted so well, though it got a little rickety at the final stretch!”

Moycraig YFC’s second big event was a gala ball held in Royal Court Hotel in Portrush which saw over 100 members and friends together. An auction with donated prizes was held with all funds benefiting Air Ambulance NI. A tremendous £8,000 was raised from the two events, and a further £2,245.82 was raised by family and friends of the Morrison family.

This included £200 from Isaac’s 11-year-old school friend Luke McCormick who asked for Air Ambulance donations instead of birthday gifts, £625 from sale of home-made shortbread raised by Isaac’s aunty Zara, a Santa splash in the sea in December by staff of Stephen W Moore, and contributions of £950 from a rugby match involving Coleraine farmers, sponsored by William Henry.

Kerry Anderson, Head of Fundraising at Air Ambulance NI said: “It was lovely to welcome the Morrison family and Moycraig Young Farmers to the airbase, seeing Isaac running around and thanking the group in person for their support. It’s wonderful to see the result of a family and community working together to keep the air ambulance operational. We wish Isaac a continued recovery and thank everyone who contributed to this fundraising total. It will fully fund the service to reach a future patient.”

The charity Air Ambulance Northern Ireland, in partnership with the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service, provides the Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) for Northern Ireland. The service brings urgent medical assistance to anywhere in the province, operating seven days a week for 12 hours per day.

Further information on the charity can be found by visiting www.airambulanceni.org or contact the charity directly by emailing [email protected] or calling 028 9262 2677.