Like many other NCMD regions and affiliated clubs Loughborough Coin & Search Society has often raised money for local charities and deserving causes in the past and our aim is to continue doing so.
Like many detectorists we also hope to be able to give the landowners & residents of the areas in which we search a glimpse into the past by possibly uncovering something that which may have laid undisturbed for 100’s or even 1000’s of years.
The money we raise is achieved by the weekly/fortnightly digs held throughout the year in & around Leicestershire when club members are charged a small dig fee.
In many cases the money we take on the day will go to the landowner; however a landowner will also often be passionate about the charity we have chosen, and kindly decide to waive all or part of their fee.
When this happens the money we collect is saved until the end of the year and then donated to the charity of our members choice, the Derbyshire Leicestershire & Rutland Air Ambulance appeal was our most recently chosen charity.
In May 2014 we were able to donate £1456.72, £1,026.72 of which was raised by the club and a second cheque for £430 was very kindly donated by Leicestershire Prison Officers Charity as 3 of our club members work in this service.
What follows is a brief resume of the day by Andrew Peers, our club Public Relations Officer
The Donation Day:
On arriving at the outskirts of East Midlands Airport and finally finding the DLRAA base camp we were met by Sophie (Regional Fundraising Manager) and escorted into the porta-cabin and there outside sat the DLRAA helicopter in all its glory and I thought “Perfect – we are going to get our picture stood right next to that!”
How wrong could I have been, because within minutes of us being there, in ran the pilot for a last minute visit to the toilet, before taking off to answer a real emergency call. “How’s that for timing?” I thought ….”That’s our pictures round the helicopter gone.” But in seriousness, the moment only served to highlight the admirable job done by this and all Air Ambulances across the country.
We all stood there in amazement as the engine was fired up and the whole porta-cabin began to shake and within a minute or so it was high in the sky and gone.
Sophie said there had been an accident in Northampton and these guys were the closest available unit, and from take-off to the scene it would take only 17 minutes when travelling at around 200mph, she also said these guys can go out around 5 times a day at a cost of around £1500 each time, meanwhile whilst being shown around our attention was drawn to the familiar sound of an helicopter – it was the crew coming back. They hadn’t been needed after all, so after just 5 minutes in the air they were back at base. Once on the ground and engine finally shutdown we were allowed out to meet the crew and take a look around the helicopter and were after all, able to have some pictures taken alongside these amazing guys and girls.
I know that all club members will want to join me in thanking and calling for as much further support as possible for the DLRAA who do such a marvellous job and rely solely on charitable donations. I personally want to thank all the club members for attending our digs and putting their hands in their pockets, and a special thanks to our 3 members who work for Her Majestys Prison Service and the Leicestershire Prison Officers Charity itself for their cheque
And finally but most importantly to the landowners for being so generous -Long may it continue!
Andrew Peers Public relations Officer for LCSS
Members who attended…
Jeff Hughes & his wife Elisabeth /Barrie Davis/Tony Williams/Gerry Betts/ Andrew Peers /Gary Wigston and last but not least taking the pictures was Gavin Wyatt