I’Anson, parent company of British Horse Feeds, will donate £60,000 over three years to the Yorkshire Air Ambulance charity to support its lifesaving work throughout Yorkshire. The company will fund the donation out of the savings it is set to make from replacing its old style conventional lighting with energy efficient LEDs.
The changes are set to be implemented in the firm’s mill in Masham, North Yorkshire, where feed for horses, farm animals and pet foods is manufactured. The new £35,000 lighting system will see 320 modern LED bulbs replace over 800 conventional fluorescent fittings, reducing energy usage by 70% and saving around £20,000 a year.
Along with supporting general running costs, some of the donation will provide night vision goggles for the helicopter pilots, allowing the air ambulance to safely operate in the dark.
Chris I’Anson, Managing Director of I’Anson, said: “We’re a Yorkshire company through and through and we believe in putting something back into the local community. In a large county like this, where much of the countryside operates as an open-air factory, a fully functional air ambulance is a real necessity. Some of the more remote areas are very difficult to access by road and in an emergency the air ambulance can literally mean the difference between life and death for a casualty.
“To be able to make this donation as a direct result of taking action to reduce our carbon footprint and our energy consumption is particularly pleasing. We have a real pride in knowing that we are making a contribution to keeping the service operating.”
Paul Gowland, Director of Fundraising at Yorkshire Air Ambulance, said: “This is a very generous and much appreciated gesture by I’Anson that will help us to continue providing our much-needed service. It’s particularly appropriate that one of Yorkshire’s best known and longest established rural businesses should be helping an operation that does much of its work in some of the county’s most remote corners. We are very proud that our principal supporters are local, family-owned companies and I’Anson is a perfect match. We welcome them to the Yorkshire Air Ambulance family.”
Following the donation, I’Anson has rebranded its already distinctive fleet of delivery vehicles with new Yorkshire Air Ambulance livery.
In 2016, Yorkshire’s two air ambulances flew 1,390 missions, equating to almost four a day, and treated 855 patients. The helicopters are based at airbases which allow them to access any part of Yorkshire within 20 minutes flying time.
