In 2018, H&W employees voted to make eight air ambulance charities their official charity partner until 2020. The ambulances include Devon Air Ambulance Trust, Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance, Great Western Air Ambulance Charity, Hampshire and IOW Air Ambulance, Kent Surrey Sussex Air Ambulance, London’s Air Ambulance, Thames Valley Air Ambulance and Wiltshire Air Ambulance.

Over the past two years, 53 H&W pubs in the south-west raised money through fundraising events such as quiz nights, family fund days and challenge events. The annual H&W Dorset Beer Festival alone raised £23,000.

In recognition of National Air Ambulance week in September, more than 30 H&W employees undertook an abseil decent of Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth, raising over £5,000.

Lucinda Gray, Company Charity Champion of H&W, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to have raised such a tremendous amount for eight local air ambulance charities. We set ourselves the ambitious target of raising £250,000 over the two years, but with dedication, kindness and teamwork I am incredibly proud and humbled that our team have smashed this.”

Speaking on behalf of the charities, Tracy Bartram, Communications Manager at Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance, added: “It is extremely rare for eight air ambulance charities to have an opportunity to be the beneficiaries of one ‘Charity of the Year’ initiative, which makes the H&W Charity Partnership extremely unique. With the approximate cost of an air ambulance mission being £3,000, this means that in two years the partnership has potentially funded 90 life-saving missions. On behalf of the patients that needs us all, thank you – we are truly grateful.”