Builder bucks for blood bikes
An organisation that provides a free, out-of-hours transportation service for essential medical supplies for hospitals and hospices in Devon has secured a £1,000 donation from one of the county’s largest housebuilders.
Persimmon Homes has provided financial support to South West Blood Bikes as part of its Community Champions scheme which sees £700,000 spent each year on good causes and much-valued organisations across Britain.
South West Blood Bikes is a volunteer-run charity that makes no charge for its services. They provide a local service within Devon using their own fleet and volunteers, but also an out of county service that works in relay with other Blood Bike groups.
Its aims are to save lives and improve patient outcomes, whilst at the same time saving the NHS and hospices money, which they can use on patient care. Since the charity formed in 2018, its volunteers have been called out more than 18, 832 times, and moved over 118,978 individual items, saving the NHS over £1,060,144 in transportation costs.
Other recent Community Champions winners include Hospiscare Exeter, Friends of Willowbank Primary School, Wellbeing in Action, Teignbridge Canoe Club, Teignmouth Thunderbirds Netball Club, Buckland Athletic FC, and The Lodge Indoor Skate Park.
The accredited five-star developer’s South West business has homes for sale at sites in Cranbrook, Cullompton, Dawlish, Exeter, Newton Abbot, Paignton, Taunton, and Yeovil.
Commenting, Persimmon Homes South West Sales Director, Stacey Harris, said: “South West Blood Bikes to really important work across Devon, helping patients and medical professionals across the county – and beyond – so they definitely fit the mould of a Persimmon Community Champion.
“Given that Persimmon is building across Devon and that everyone will be affected by a medical emergency during their lives, it felt that lending a helping hand to the Blood Bikes was a good way for us to sustain much-valued services in the region.”
East Team Leader Rob Springthorpe added: “We’re very grateful to Persimmon for this generous contribution. As a volunteer-led charity, we rely entirely on donations to keep our bikes on the road and ensure vital medical supplies reach the people who need them most.
“Support like this helps us continue providing a free, round-the-clock service across Devon and beyond, and it means a great deal to our volunteers and the patients we ultimately serve.”
