Southampton Ice Rinkers raise £558 for Hampshire & IoW Air Ambulance Service

On Saturday 21st May 2022, Outreach Radio hosted The Ultimate Southampton Ice Rink Reunion at the Empire Hall, Totton, and raised £558 for the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Air Ambulance Service.

With guests from across the region and some who travelled from as far away as Gibraltar, New Brighton near Liverpool in Merseyside and Aston in Birmingham, Outreach Radio presenters and former Southampton Ice Rink DJ’s Mike “The Music Man” Joyce & Bob Heather compèred the evening, supported on-stage by Outreach Junior presenter, Onur, The Groovy Pelican and Jean from the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Air Ambulance Service.

With friends reuniting and sharing memories, it was night of great music from across the years, with fun banter from Mike and Bob.  Superbly organised by Mike’s wife Dawn and supported by Jackie who tirelessly sold a huge number of raffle tickets, the raffle and auction, which included prizes donated from Southampton Football Club, Beaulieu Motor Museum, Totton & Eling Cricket Club and Plaza Theatre, Romsey as well as numerous individuals to whom we are very grateful, all helped to raise funds for the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Air Ambulance Service.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance are a registered charity. They receives no government, statutory or national lottery funding for routine operations and it is only thanks to the generosity of supporters that they are able to keep the Air Ambulance flying and saving lives. They need to raise in excess of £8 million a year, all through charitable donations.

We were blown away by an anonymous regular listener to the Southampton Ice Rink Memories show on Outreach Radio who donated £150 to the cause, and we would like to send a special thanks to this person.

We’d also like to thank all the amazing people behind the scenes who worked so hard to make this an amazing event, and also Bob Heather’s son-in-law, Martin from Ivysound Lighting for providing the lights on the night.

We received the following e-mail from Lucy, the Support Engagement Officer at HIOWAA, which read…

Dear Osman and Mike,
On behalf of everybody at Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance, our patients, and their families, thank you for your generous donation of £558 raised at what sounds an absolutely incredible event!
For the past 15, years support from people like you has given our patients the best possible chance at life. The chance of a future. When our patients and their families need us most, you help put us there. Whether it’s by the bedside or at the roadside, we will be there for them.
Our teams of doctors, paramedics, pilots and dispatch assistants have now responded to more than 15,000 calls for help since we began flying back in 2007. As a vital member of our team, none of those missions would have been possible without you on board.
In June your Air Ambulance was called out to 151 emergency missions.
We were recently called out to Jim when he was hit by a car as he was riding his bike near Andover. Due to the severity of his injuries, Jim sadly died shortly after arriving at hospital. Because of the interventions of our air ambulance crew, however, Jim was able to be taken to hospital while still alive. This meant his wish for the donation of his organs, including heart valves and tissue, liver and kidneys, could be granted.
His daughter Emma told us: “I’ve got no doubt whatsoever that Dad had the absolute best care. Every possible chance was given to him, but his injuries were just too severe. We always knew about the Air Ambulance but didn’t realise it relied on donations. We will never be able to show enough gratitude for what the team did for him. Support from people like you will hopefully mean another family doesn’t have to go through what we’ve been through.”
Thank you for standing shoulder to shoulder with us and the patients and their families who so desperately need our help.
You are a lifesaver. We really do appreciate your support and looking forward to showing you around the Air base.
Warmest wishes,
Lucy

The event was recorded and a specially edited version was broadcast the following evening on Outreach Radio, and can be listened to again on catch-up, below:

Click on the Play button to listen to the Southampton Ice Rink Reunion Special

Prior to the event, the Southern Daily Echo were also kind enough to feature an article about the event, including some wonderful photos from the Southampton Ice Rink in the past.