NEW CHARITY PARTNERSHIP OFF TO A FLYING START
Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance is Standard Life Assurance’s 2019 charity partner.
Today, Standard Life Assurance, part of Phoenix Group, announces Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance (SCAA) is to be its corporate charity partner for 2019. This is part of the company’s commitment to support the communities where it operates.
SCAA is Scotland’s only charity air ambulance and is an integral part of Scotland’s frontline emergency response network, working in partnership with the Scottish Ambulance Service. On average, it responds to one time-critical call out every day.
The charity partnership between Standard Life Assurance, which has its operational headquarters in Edinburgh, and SCAA will expand the support being given by Phoenix employees to air ambulance services across the UK. Phoenix already partners with Midlands Air Ambulance Charity and London’s Air Ambulance Charity, and Phoenix employees have been volunteering and fundraising in support of the important work these organisations do. The Group, which also has operations in Basingstoke, is announcing a new partnership with the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance in 2019 too.
Standard Life Assurance has kicked off the partnership with a donation of some £31,000 for SCAA today, raised through the company’s Christmas raffle and other initiatives such as Give As You Earn.
Since Phoenix Group and its employees first started supporting air ambulance services in 2014, they have raised over £730,000 through fundraising and corporate matching. Phoenix is committed to actively contributing to the communities where it operates, and this includes providing donations, skills, time and resources to support charity causes. The Group has been included in the UK’s Top Employers Listing[1] for the past seven years. Its charity partnerships are important to employees and help to build greater engagement.
Based at Perth Airport, SCAA can be airborne within five minutes of receiving an emergency call and can reach 90% of Scotland’s population within 25 minutes. Since 2013 it has responded to almost 2,000 calls, with the average cost of a life-saving mission being circa £2,000.
Susan McInnes, Chief Executive Officer, Standard Life Assurance commented: “We’re delighted to be partnering with Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance which saves and improves lives across Scotland every day. Our employees at Standard Life Assurance are well known for their fundraising efforts and for volunteering their time and skills, often going that extra mile to make a real difference. Playing an active role in the communities where we operate is something that our Group is committed to. We’re very much looking forward to getting involved in activities in support of Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance.
David Craig, Chief Executive at SCAA, said: "SCAA is delighted and honoured to be chosen as a charity partner by Standard Life Assurance, part of the largest life and pensions consolidators in Europe. It’s a particularly significant year for our charity as we work towards launching our second helicopter air ambulance for the people of Scotland.
"Standard Life Assurance has set itself an ambitious target of raising £104,000 which will see staff fund an average of one time-critical mission every week throughout 2019. That would be a wonderful achievement.
"I hope that knowing they are helping to save and improve lives will spur everyone on in this much appreciated partnership and we look forward to working closely with Standard Life Assurance over the next 12 months."
