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foreword Welcome ooking out of my office on a very L wet February morning, it’s hard to believe that spring is just around the corner. Mind you, with so much to look forward to this year, the months will soon fly by and we are frantically ticking off our list of ‘things to do’. Roger Morgan, our new Chairman of Trustees, makes a very good point of listing some of these in his piece on page 8. As well as the normal hustle and bustle of any year in the life of <strong>Dorset</strong> and <strong>Somerset</strong> <strong>Air</strong> <strong>Ambulance</strong>, this year we have an incredible range of things happening that will have a huge positive impact on all our beneficiaries. A doctor and paramedic critical care team on all our shifts, a major upgrade to our hangar, to include a clinical training facility and, of course, the new helicopter. All this needs money and thanks to the generosity of the people of <strong>Dorset</strong> and <strong>Somerset</strong>, we will be able to go on improving and delivering an air ambulance service of which we can all be proud. Sadly, this year, we have seen some quite shocking fundraising activities on the part of some very well-known charities and I felt that I might take this opportunity to set the record straight with regard to our own fundraising. Firstly you should know that we have never purchased lists of potential donors and that personal information you share with us is only used by us for accounting purposes, to thank donors and to keep our supporters up to date with how their donations are helping to make a difference. We do not send letters to existing donors asking them to contribute more and we will cease all correspondence with supporters the minute it is requested. We have reviewed all our fundraising activities to ensure that we continue to treat our donors with absolute respect and that we conform to the highest standards of fundraising behaviour. We currently have more than 82,000 members of our Flight for Life Lottery, which represents a significant proportion of the <strong>Dorset</strong> and <strong>Somerset</strong> population and makes us one of the most successful society lotteries in the country. However, with members dropping out every week (moving away, financial difficulties and passing away) we must keep canvassing for new members to replace them. This requires significant effort and we do it by a mixture of in-store and door-to-door canvassing. All our canvassers wear easily identifiable clothing and carry identification, however, we do not believe that current national guidance goes quite far enough and now apply our own standards to the way in which our canvassers work. We are particularly conscious of vulnerable adults in all our communities who might unwittingly give their consent to payments they cannot really afford. To that end, we have committed to avoid any canvassing in sheltered communities and our canvassers have recently undergone training as ‘Dementia Friends’. Read more about this on page 14. We have been so pleased with this approach that we are planning to extend this training to include all our fundraising staff and volunteers. As well as being known for our clinical excellence, we also want to be known as leaders when it comes to fundraising standards. We think it’s the least you deserve. All that remains is for me to say that I hope you enjoy this issue of <strong>Beeline</strong>. As you have come to expect, it has articles covering a huge range of topics. Some you will find informative, others you might find inspirational. If you have had personal experience of the air ambulance as a patient, I hope that it will encourage you to share your story so that we can share it with others. Please also get in touch if you have any ideas for possible articles to include in the future. We look forward to hearing from you. Bill Sivewright Chief Executive, <strong>Dorset</strong> and <strong>Somerset</strong> <strong>Air</strong> <strong>Ambulance</strong> Published by: <strong>Dorset</strong> & <strong>Somerset</strong> <strong>Air</strong> <strong>Ambulance</strong>, Landacre House, Castle Road, Chelston Business Park, Wellington, <strong>Somerset</strong>, TA21 9JQ. Tel: +44 (0) 1823 669604 Email: info@dsairambulance.org.uk www.dsairambulance.org.uk Registered Charity Number: 1078685 Editor: Tracy Bartram Assistant editor: Lara Lucas Designer: Anthony Collins Production editor: Claire Manuel Front cover: Michelle Walker © <strong>2016</strong>. The entire contents of this publication are protected by copyright. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means: electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the <strong>Dorset</strong> and <strong>Somerset</strong> <strong>Air</strong> <strong>Ambulance</strong> (DSAA). The reproduction of advertisements in this publication does not in any way imply endorsement by DSAA of products or services referred to therein. BAMBOO HOUSE PUBLISHING For advertising queries, please contact Bamboo House Publishing Ltd Tel: +44 (0)1225 331023 www.bamboohouse.co.uk <strong>Dorset</strong> and <strong>Somerset</strong> <strong>Air</strong> <strong>Ambulance</strong> @dsairambulance 3