Airbus has announced its new charity partners for 2019

Airbus has announced its new charity partners for 2019, just as its previous partnership with the British Heart Foundation is shortlisted for a major national award after it resulted in TWO lives being saved.

The aerospace giant’s two-year agreement with heart-disease research charity BHF not only raised £188,000 but resulted in more than 4,300 Airbus employees at its Filton and Broughton sites being trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation or CPR.

As a result of that training, two people who suffered cardiac arrests received urgent medical help from Airbus employees trained in CPR, leading to the inititiative being shortlisted in the employee engagement category of the 2019 Business Charity Awards.

Paul McKinlay, Airbus Senior Vice-President and Head of Broughton Plant, said:

“Our contribution to the wider community through our charity partnerships is something we are proud of at Airbus. In the past two years, our partnership with BHF has been a huge success, not only in raising nearly £200,000, but in training thousands of our employees in life-saving CPR.

Being shortlisted for such an award is a welcome recognition of these efforts, which ultimately have saved lives.”

Mark Stewart, General Manager and Airbus UK HR Director, said: “

We’re extremely pleased to be nominated in the 2019 Business Charity Awards. When we set out on this journey, working with the BHF, our aim was not only to raise as much money as we could, but to increase awareness within our Airbus sites and wider communities of how to save a life by performing CPR.

“We know from some real-life events that we not only achieved this ambition but actually helped two of our employees save a friend’s and a family member’s life. There can be no more testimony to the success of our partnership with BHF than knowing it helped save lives.”

Sara Askew, Head of Survival at the British Heart Foundation, added:

 “It is wonderful news that Airbus employees have saved three lives thanks to its partnership with the BHF. Every year in the UK, there are over 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, and survival rates are less than one in 10. That’s why it is critically important that we continue to train as many people as possible in CPR and defibrillator awareness.

“Every minute that somebody in need does not receive CPR it reduces their chances of survival by up to 10%. This life-saving skill only takes 30 minutes to learn and in some cases can triple a person’s chance of survival. We would encourage as many work places as possible to train their staff in CPR and how to use a defibrillator.” 

This week, UK-based commercial aircraft and A400M Airbus employees in Filton and Broughton have been voting for the company’s new charity partners from more than 100 nominations.

Unlike the BHF partnership, which lasted two years and was exclusive, 10 charities have been selected by staff this year for a 12-month partnership – five for Broughton and five for the company’s Filton site.

The Broughton-site charities are Claire House Children’s Hospice, Wales Air Ambulance, Clatterbridge Cancer Charity, North East Wales Search and Rescue, and Nightingale House Hospice.

The five charities chosen by Filton staff are Jesse May Children’s Hospice at Home, Help Bristol’s Homeless, Headway Bristol, Severn Freewheelers and St Peter’s Hospice.

Jasper Thompson, Founder of Help for Bristol’s Homeless, said: “This is fantastic news and has come at a very crucial stage in the creation of ‘The Village at Spring Street’. It is so great to know that there is so much support for the work being done for Bristol’s homeless. A big thank you to everyone at Airbus for helping make this happen.”

Meanwhile, Lynne Garlick, Fundraising Manager for Wales Air Ambulance North Wales, added: “On behalf of everybody at the charity, thank you to all staff at Airbus in Broughton for your support. This partnership will help maintain our vital lifesaving services. Our friends at Airbus can rest assured that their support will benefit many people across North Walesin their greatest hour of need.”