Queensferry customers help Charlies Stores raise over £160,000 for Air Ambulance charities

Customers of Charlies in Queensferry have helped the independent, family-run chain of Home, Garden and Outdoor stores raise a huge amount of money for Wales Air Ambulance.

In 2023 alone, across all all stores, a fantastic £15,034 was raised for air ambulance services, thanks to the commitment of Charlies’ staff and the generosity of its customers. This latest effort brings their total contributions to an impressive £159,600.

Charlies stores found themselves to be in fine voice over the Christmas period, welcoming some special singing visitors to take up residency.

The Coed-y-Dinas store was joined by three penguins, while Queensferry welcomed some reindeer, Shrewsbury some yeti and the talking reindeer returned to Carmarthen and delighted customers with his well wishes.

To add to the pot the Coed-y-Dinas store welcomed some real reindeer, provided donkey rides for children and held wreath-making classes with the brilliant Leanne from Serendipity Flowers, Welshpool.

As has become an annual festive tradition for Charlies, the company also donated £2 from the sale of every real Christmas tree.

They don’t just stop at raising money for the Air Ambulance, with Lingen Davies receiving £3,350. A big breakfast was also held earlier in the year which raised £420 alone for Prostate Cymru.

Of the £15,034 raised for the Air Ambulance, Welsh Air Ambulance will receive £11,159 and the Midlands division will get £3,875.

Charlies Stores Managing Director, Rebecca Lloyd, said: “As ever we have been blown away by the generosity of our customers and staff.”

“Each year we work hard to create meaningful festive experiences for our customers and feel honoured that so many Christmas traditions take place in our stores.”

“Nothing makes us happier than seeing photos of our customers enjoying what we’ve created and the fact that this also helped us to raise such a large sum of money for the Air Ambulance and Lingen Davies makes it even more rewarding.”

“We’re so grateful for the continued support and we’d like to thank everyone who visited us and donated the much-needed funds.”

Mark Stevens, Head of Fundraising at Wales Air Ambulance, said: “We would like to thank all the staff and customers of Charlies Stores for their continued support of our Charity.”

“To raise over £15,000 in one year is an incredible sum of money and is a wonderful achievement, which will help our Charity continue to be there for the people and communities of Wales when they require us the most.”

“Charlies have been avid supporters of ours and to have raised over £150,000 for air ambulance charities is astonishing.”

“Those funds will enable us and our friends at Midlands Air Ambulance to help so many people and to reunite families with their loved ones. For that, we couldn’t be more grateful.”

The Wales Air Ambulance provides hospital-standard treatments directly to patients wherever they are, potentially saving hours of time compared to standard care and significantly improving chances of survival and early recovery.

This includes offering advanced critical care such as anaesthesia, blood transfusions, and minor operations on-site.

Dubbed a ‘flying emergency department,’ the service also operates rapid response vehicles to deliver care by road.

Operating 24/7 through a partnership between the Third Sector and Public Sector, it relies on public donations to fund the £11.2 million needed annually for its operations.

The service, which features highly skilled NHS consultants and critical care practitioners, covers the entire country, ensuring emergency lifesaving care is accessible everywhere in Wales.