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VALUABLE CONTRIBUTION: Rachael Beech receives the £15,316.59 cheque from Gareth Vaughan - left - and Emyr Jones.[/caption]
The total amount raised by Farmers' Union of Wales members and supporters for president Gareth Vaughan's Wales Air Ambulance (WAA) charity is £15,316.59, the union revealed today.
Presenting the cheque to WAA fundraising co-ordinator Rachael (correct spelling) Beech during the recent Royal Welsh Smallholder and Garden Festival, Mr Vaughan said the air ambulance service is a most appropriate and fully deserving cause for a national organisation representing rural areas.
Mrs Beech said: "Wales Air Ambulance relies solely on community donations as we don't get any government funding. So to have local organisations such as the FUW and their local committees on board means so much.
"To be supported by the farming community is a huge benefit to us, not just the financial support but the support in general. We are again very grateful for all the hard work."
The annual cost of sustaining WAA's three air bases, which cover the whole of Wales from Caernarfon, Welshpool and Swansea airports, is over £5m and only through continued public support are they able to meet these targets.
Mr Vaughan added: "Due to Wales' widely scattered population and diverse landscape, there is a proven need for their helicopters to be fully operational throughout the year.
"I am well aware the Air Ambulance has been a lifesaver time and time again in all parts of rural Wales and as a representative of the farming industry I and my fellow FUW officials are proud to be associated with such a vital service."
Over £10,000 of the total sum handed over was raised jointly at a promise auction and hog roast at deputy president Emyr Jones' farm at Rhiwaedog, Rhosygwaliau, near Bala, and by the union's Caernarfonshire branch which held farmhouse breakfasts on members' farms throughout the county.