Warner Goodman donate £3,000 to SERV Wessex

Local law firm Warner Goodman have beaten their pledge to donate £2,500 to SERV Wessex.  The initial £1,000 was made as a donation from the firm, however the final £2,000 was raised from a 22 mile walk 10 members of staff completed on Sunday 29^th April.

Who are SERV Wessex?

SERV (Service by Emergency Rider Volunteers) Wessex is a registered charity made up of approximately 120 volunteers of riders, drivers and duty controllers providing a life saving service free of charge to the NHS.  The volunteers work 365 days a year, between 19.00 and 06.00 weekdays and 24 hours a day at weekends and on public holidays.  “As well as transporting blood between hospitals, we also transport platelets, plasma, samples, medical equipment and frozen donated human milk to neo-natal departments,” explains Robert Smith, volunteer rider and Events Coordinator for the charity.  

Dan Thompson, Personal Injury Partner from the firm, explains why they decided to raise money for this exceptional charity, “Unfortunately, we see every day the consequences of devastating collisions and accidents on our roads and in our homes, and the work that our NHS undertakes is vital to saving lives and the recovery of patients following those injuries.  Without SERV Wessex providing their services for free, the NHS would be subject to a huge cost from delivering blood and other equipment that the region’s hospitals, and the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance, need.”

Walk for SERV Wessex

The group of Warner Goodman staff began their 22 mile walk at Winchester city centre before heading along the South Downs route to Beacon Hill, passing landmarks and beauty spots such as Cheesefoot Hill.  They then walked the return journey along roads and muddy paths, embracing the cold weather of the day, and managed to complete the route in just over 7 hours.  Volunteers from SERV Wessex were also along the route providing the walkers with welcome hot drinks and homemade flapjacks.

“Our goal when we initially met SERV Wessex last year was to donate £2,500 to them, which is enough money to keep one of their motorbikes on the road for a year, taking into account servicing, repairs, tax and insurance,” concludes Dan.  “During 2017, the volunteers covered 111,000 miles on their bikes, and 72% of that mileage was covered by the volunteers using their own vehicles and covering all their own costs.  Taking into consideration the amount of miles and time these volunteers give up themselves, the least we could do was spend a day raising money for them and I’m delighted we have been able to exceed our original £1,500 target, now having raised over £2,000.”

To find out more about SERV Wessex you can visit their website here, or to help Warner Goodman raise more funds for the charity, visit the MyDonate page here.

ENDS

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