Bake Off for Herts Helipad
Efforts are under way to raise the final funding for a helipad at Luton & Dunstable hospital. As part of this they have launched Bake Off to Take Off, an initiative aimed at getting as many people as possible in the area to hold a cake sale during the summer and autumn in aid of the appeal.
As part of the initiative a special recipe book has been produced which features the favourites of – among others – the hospital’s emergency department.
- Foodie fundraisers encouraged to hold a cake sale during the summer of 2019 – the hospital’s 80th birthday year – to help raise final £1.5m for an on-site helipad.
- Special L&D recipe book, bunting, invitations and more available here.
- Bake Off initiative held in aid of the L&D Helipad Appeal: much-needed direct Air Ambulance access to the hospital will increase the survival and recovery rates of heart attack, stroke and trauma patients and provide the ONLY 24/7 landing facility directly serving Herts, Beds and Bucks.
- Donations via Just Giving: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ldhhelipad.
The Luton and Dunstable Hospital Charitable Fund has created a special downloadable cake-sale pack – providing everything a foodie fundraiser could need to host a bake-off – in aid of the hospital’s Helipad Appeal.
The Appeal aims to generate £1.5m, the final sum required to secure the project to build a helipad within the hospital complex. With no helipad currently at the hospital itself, Air Ambulances land on a local school playing field and transfer patients the final distance by road, significantly eating into the 60 critical minutes after an incident. If it is deemed too risky to undertake the final road transfer, casualties can potentially be transferred to the nearest emergency helipads, in Northamptonshire, Cambridge or London. The closest of these is over 25 miles away.
The majority of the helipad funding – over £4m – is already in place. It is hoped that the helipad will be operational by 2021.
The ‘Bake Off to Take Off’ pack – the idea for which was inspired by the hospital celebrating its 80th birthday in this year – includes posters, invitations, a bunting template, and a selection of favourite baking recipes chosen by some of the hospital’s teams. The pack will be available for download throughout the summer.
Sarah Amexheta, Head of Charity, said: ‘2019 is a milestone year for the L&D, and Preparing to Land is the charity’s flagship appeal for the 80th birthday celebrations. Among multiple other fundraising ideas, cake sales seemed like a natural fit.
‘We have had a lot of fun with bake-offs between hospital staff in the past, but thought it was about time to stop eating all the cake ourselves and start spreading the love. Hopefully the pack will provide inspiration enough for events large and small. We look forward to seeing the results.’
The downloadable pack is available here.
Bakers are invited to share their creations on Facebook and Twitter using the #bakeofftotakeoff hashtag.
The charity’s own pages can be found on Facebook and Twitter at @ldhfundraising.
Participants can help the cause via Just Giving.
For more information visit www.ldh.nhs.uk/helipad.