NFU Mutual Totnes are proud to be supporting the Devon Air Ambulance Trust. We will be acting as a drop off point to anyone wishing to donate used stamps, old ink cartridges and mobile phones. We will also be supporting the R.A.B.I with donations from Totnes and Kingsbridge Show. Keep an eye out to see what else we are getting involved with!' 

Whether you live in Devon, are on holiday or business, or simply passing through, it's reassuring to know that, should you have the misfortune to be taken ill or have an accident, one of the county's two Air Ambulances will be at hand.

Funding for Devon's Air Ambulances comes from the Devon Air Ambulance Trust, a charity, which has to raise in the region of £4.5 million every year.  It is deployed via a specialist HEMS (helicopter emergency medical services) dispatch team at the South Western Ambulance Service's 999 control room.

A helicopter comes into its own because of its ability to reach the most remote locations quickly.  It flies in a straight line and is unaffected by traffic jams on the ground.  Devon has an extensive road network of over 9,200 miles, many of which are simply tracks.  With an Air Ambulance, the whole population (more than  a million) plus summer visitors, is able to receive much needed medical treatment as quickly as possible.

Between the two helicopters, 50% of Devon can be reached by Air Ambulance within 5 minutes, and all of it within around  20 minutes.  Another advantage of using a helicopter is it can go direct to the hospital that  can best deal with the specific injuries of the patient.  For example, if someone has  a head injury they can be taken directly to a specialist head injuries unit rather than the nearest hospital.

If you would like further information about the service, the charity, our events, or other ways that you can make a difference, why not get in touch with us?

You can find lots more information on our website at www.daat.org, or call us on  01392 466666 or keep up to date with our news by following us on twitter (@DevonAirAmb) or facebook  (search 'Devon Air Ambulance').

How to contact us:

Devon Air Ambulance Trust,
Unit 5,
Sandpiper Court,
Harrington Lane,
Exeter,
EX4 8NS

01392 466666

Log onto www.daat.org or email info@daat.org

Registered Charity No: 1077998

The Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (R.A.B.I) is very pleased to be joining the NFU on its stand at this year's Totnes and Kingsbridge Shows.

The farming charity has seen the number of people in Devon contacting it for help rise dramatically in recent years and is keen to raise awareness of the support it offers, as well as funds.

For more than 150 years R.A.B.I has been helping people in the farming community in financial difficulty. We help people of any age with limited savings, who work or have worked in England or Wales as farmers, farm workers, agricultural workers, or are the dependant of someone who has.

To qualify for long-term help, retired applicants must be 65 or older and have worked full-time on the land for ten or more years, or have had to give up work early due to permanent ill health or disability.

To qualify for emergency help, working families must be experiencing exceptional financial problems as a result of things like bereavement, accident, ill health, or animal disease.

The majority of our beneficiaries are elderly and/or disabled. Benefits they may receive include:

• Quarterly grants
• Payment of telephone rental costs and lifeline alarms
• Payment of TV licences (if under 75 years)
• Grants to help with seasonal expenses
• Financial assistance with the cost of a home help
• Provision to cover care home shortfalls

R.A.B.I also has two residential homes providing long-term care.

The working farming families we help on a short-term basis are given grants to help them over the immediate crisis. We might also pay for temporary farm labour if a farmer or a member of his or her family is taken seriously ill or suffers an accident.

In addition our Gateway project gives training grants to farmers and farm workers to help them earn extra money off-farm to help boost the main family income.

R.A.B.I works discretely, in confidence. In all cases it is the farming family and not the farm business that we support and the difference this can make is tremendous. Here are two examples:

Ivy is 86 and the widow of a farm worker. She has an arthritic hip that causes her severe mobility problems. She was finding it increasingly difficult to get in and out of her armchair. In addition to giving her ongoing financial support, R.A.B.I paid for an electric riser/recliner chair and provided her with a lifeline pendant alarm in case she needs to summon help. Now she feels that she can live more comfortably and securely in her own home.

Tim, a tenant farmer in his 30s, was undergoing chemotherapy for cancer and couldn't supplement his small income from farming with his work for the local council. Domestic bills were mounting, and he and his wife struggled to find money to get to the hospital 90 miles away. R.A.B.I gave an emergency grant and paid for temporary farm labour. As a result, some of the stress was lifted, allowing the family to concentrate on helping Tim.

To enquire about help available call R.A.B.I's confidential helpline 01865 727888 or see the website www.rabi.org.uk.

To find out more about R.A.B.I in Devon and how to help us raise awareness as well as funds call 01872 500902 or email p.spackman@rabi.org.uk.