AN AMBULANCE used on the set of TV show Holby City will be touring Warwickshire to help Ukrainians.
It has been donated to South Warwickshire-based charity Ambulance Aid, which fund-raising to buy ex-NHS ambulances for use helping Ukrainians in their war-torn homeland.
Ambulance Aid founder, Alf Rajkowski said: “The donation of this special ambulance came about through a surgeon based in Oxfordshire who contacted me after the launch of Ambulance Aid.
“Holby City had just finished its final episode and I was sworn to secrecy.”
The ambulance will tour throughout Warwickshire to help raise funds for Ambulance Aid’s mission. It first port of call was at MKM Building Supplies in Leamington on Tuesday (May 3).
Dave Warren, director of MKM Building Supplies, and retired property developer Alf have a long business history.
And the two have now created a fund-raising partnership, setting a goal of £20,000 to buy ex-NHS ambulances to be delivered to Ukraine, filled with donated medical supplies.
Dave and his team will also be raising money at the branch, and have set up a GoFundMe page for donations.
MKM is an independent builders merchants with over 90 branches across the country. MKM’s head office has generously promised to match fund the final total.
Dave said: “Like so many, we have watched on with great sadness at the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. We want to contribute and help a little to provide immediate frontline healthcare support to the many people in desperate need.”
To date, Ambulance Aid has raised £25,000 through a JustGiving crowdfunding page. The charity has already delivered two ambulance to Ukraine.
Alf and charity founder Mark Pritchard Jeffs bought the first two ambulances out of their own pockets and drove them to the Polish-Ukraine border together with co-drivers, Bogdan Letkowski and Richard Timmis.
They covered the 1,300 miles – across France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany and Poland – to reach the Ukrainian border during an epic 20-hour drive.
The ambulances were then handed over near the border to local ambulance crews which took them into Ukraine.
The mercy misson was coordinated by Medical Aid Ukraine (MAU), a UK network of Ukrainian and other doctors, which is stocking the ambulances with donated medical supplies.
Alf and the team worked closely with Tania Hebert, a Ukrainian-born GP based at Warwick Hospital, who is also West Midlands lead for MAU.
The charity aims to send two more ambulances by the end of this month.
Visit www.gofundme.com/manage/mkmbs-supporting-ambulance-aid-deliver-to-ukraine to donate to MKM Building Supplies fundraiser.
Visit www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/ambulance-aid-ukraine to donate directly to Ambulance Aid.
