A BOLD couple are in training for a chilly challenge in aid of air ambulance charities.
Andrew and Katie Newby-Howes will be taking part in an Arctic Survival Challenge in March.
And all the cash raised in sponsorship will be divided between Warwickshire & Northamptonshire Air Ambulance (WNAA) and Children’s Air Ambulance.
Air Ambulance put a call out for willing volunteers to become ‘team mission explorers’ and Andrew and Katie, from Rugby, could not resist.
The one-in-a-lifetime experience, from March 5 to March 12, will challenge team members’ ability to adapt and live in the heart of a harsh environment 150km south of the Arctic Circle.
Participants will experience husky driving and snowmobiling, as well as learn the life-saving skills of ice fishing, fire lighting and snow hole building.
Andrew and Katie, who have taken part in training weekends to learn the necessary skills, are well on the way to completing their £5,990 fundraising target. They wanted to take part to support the amazing work the Air Ambulance do.
The couple said: “For both of us, and probably many of you, it’s hard to imagine the Air Ambulance Service not being there. However, the only reason they are able to keep saving lives is purely from voluntary donations.
“The charity is prominent in both of our lives. Katie has recently started working for the Air Ambulance Service and since starting, has become completely in awe of the work they do. Andrew, while working with the West Midlands Ambulance Service, has seen first hand the impact the charity has on people’s lives.”
WNAA’s critical care paramedics, doctors and pilots attend an average of ten rescue missions a day. Within minutes they can be on the ground delivering lifesaving care. .
The Children’s Air Ambulance is an inter-hospital transfer service flying babies and children from one hospital to another for specialist care.
To sponsor Andrew and Katie visit their Justgiving page at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/katieandrewarcticchallenge
