Fundraisers at Kingswinford hair salon in the running for air ambulance award

THE fundraising team at a charity-minded Kingswinford hair salon are in the running for an award recognising their efforts to raise money to help keep the region’s flying medics in the skies.

The Midlands Air Ambulance Charity is asking the public to help pick a winner for its Community Fundraiser Award which will be handed out at the charity’s annual Recognition Awards and Charity Ball in the autumn.

Among those shortlisted for the award is hairdresser Brett Harris and his team at Blaze Hair in Kingswinford.

Brett and the team have been raising funds for the air ambulance charity since the sad death of their friend and colleague Kerry Boucker, who died on December 13, 2023.

Kerry Boucker (Image: Handout)

Kerry, aged 44, who had worked as a hairdresser for 27 years, suffered a sudden cardiac arrest at her home on December 11 and the air ambulance rushed to the scene to try to save her. Tragically, however, she died in hospital two days later.

Her friends and colleagues at Blaze have since been fundraising for the Midlands Air Ambulance Charity in her memory and have raised more than £10,000 - the equivalent of three air ambulance missions.

As a result, Brett and his team were selected for the shortlist for the Community Fundraiser Award after an internal vote by the charity’s staff but now the public’s help is needed to determine the winner.

To vote visit surveymonkey.com/r/2024Comm

Emma Wood, head of fundraising and engagement for the charity, said: “We are incredibly lucky to be supported by some amazing community fundraisers and donors across the six counties we cover.

“Without those special local supporters in the communities we serve, we would simply not be able to operate our lifesaving pre-hospital emergency service. We have decided to adopt a public voting format for this particular category to highlight the generous support we receive from individuals and community groups across the Midlands, and because picking one winner out of the seven amazing nominees would be an incredibly difficult task.”

The full list of nominees are:

• Matt and Jo Hardwick – Gloucestershire

• Hereford Truck Show – Herefordshire

• The Woolpack Knitters – Herefordshire

• Derek Pugh of Morville Vintage Ploughing Match Society – Shropshire

• Brett Harris and the team at Blaze Hair in Kingswinford – West Midlands

• Bournville Village Council – West Midlands

• Dan and Nathan McGarry – West Midlands

The charity’s annual awards ceremony, which recognises its lifesaving aircrew, volunteers, fundraisers, supporters and corporate partners who help make its daily missions possible, will be held at the National Conference Centre in Birmingham on Friday September 27.

Voting closes on Friday June 28 at 4pm.

The Midlands Air Ambulance Charity operates its helicopter emergency medical service across the West Midlands, Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire and Staffordshire.

It costs £13-14 million to maintain its three aircraft and lifesaving service which also comprises critical care cars. The charity receives no government funding so relies entirely on the support and generosity of the public and businesses to keep it in the skies.