Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines has surprised the East Anglian Air Ambulance  with a £30,000 donation at the Sparkle in Spring Ball at Milsoms, Kesgrave on 10th May.

The fundraising event, was organised by Kim Berry, wife of Dr Neil Berry, who works for EAAA alongside working as a consultant anesthetist at Ipswich Hospital, and in total raised over £62,000 through ticket sales, an auction, raffle and numerous donations on the night.

Covering Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire 24 hours a day, seven days a week, EAAA saves lives by delivering highly skilled doctors and critical care paramedics by air or road to seriously ill or injured people. Yet, despite being a vital life-saving service to the region, EAAA receives no regular government funding and is kept running by donations.

Samantha Stimpson, CEO at Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines said:

“At Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, we are incredibly proud to support East Anglian Air Ambulance.

“As a business that operates in the local area, we understand the importance of the work that the EAAA does. We would like to thank East Anglian Air Ambulance for their continued hard work and hope our donation will make a huge difference to the vital work they do throughout the region”.

Kim Berry, organiser of the Sparkle in Spring Ball, said:

“I am so delighted to announce we have raised £62,000 for East Anglian Air Ambulance from the Sparkle in Spring Ball on Friday evening. The support from our headline sponsors Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines and everyone who attended on the night was just phenomenal.

“It truly couldn’t have gone any better and the surprise £30,000 donation from Fred. Olsen truly was the icing on the cake and will play a huge part in helping save lives. What an incredible thing to be able to do, we can’t thank them enough for their support.”

Matthew Jones, CEO of East Anglian Air Ambulance said:

“We are all incredibly humbled by the support from everyone involved with the Sparkle in Spring Ball, including the extraordinarily generous donation of £30,000 from Fred. Olsen Cruises – what a wonderful surprise! As long-term supporters of EAAA, Fred. Olsen has previously donated over £50,000 to our charity, helping to save many lives across Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire.

“I am sincerely thankful for the heartwarming generosity and kindness shown to EAAA by everyone at the Sparkle in Spring Ball, and a special thank you must go to Kim Berry who has gone to great lengths to organise such a fantastic evening of fundraising.

“We are so grateful for your continued support and commitment to local people and the communities that EAAA serves each day, every day. Truly, together we save lives.”

Each mission costs an average of £3,750 and, since EAAA launched in 2000, they have attended more than 30,000 life-saving missions and, on average, are called out eight times a day across both of their bases at Norwich Airport and Cambridge Airport.