Ascona Group - which has forecourts across Pembrokeshire, has helped raise an incredible £67,814 in just over six months for the Wales Air Ambulance Charity - enough money to cover the cost of twenty-five lifesaving missions!

The company has teamed up with the award-winning UK fintech charity Pennies, which enables micro-donation opportunities at checkout, helping create huge impact for charities in need.

Customers are given the opportunity to donate to charity when paying by card or digital wallet which Ascona will be match funding.

Darren Briggs, founder and chief executive of Ascona Group said: “Wales Air Ambulance, is such a phenomenal service and our customers recognise that.

“They have been so generous at our tills, whenever they make a purchase, they are given the option of donating 30p to the charity, which Ascona will match-fund.

“As you can see from the amount raised so far, they think a lot of the service.”

The Wales Air Ambulance is consultant-led, taking hospital-standard treatments to the patient and if required, transferring them directly to the most appropriate hospital for their illness or injury.

It is delivered via a unique Third Sector and Public Sector partnership. The Wales Air Ambulance Charity relies on public donations to raise the £11.2 million required every year to keep the helicopters in the air and rapid response vehicles on the road.

The Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service (EMRTS) supplies highly skilled NHS consultants and critical care practitioners who work on board the Charity’s vehicles.

This advanced critical care includes the ability to administer anaesthesia, deliver blood transfusions and conduct minor operations, all at the scene of an incident.

As a pan-Wales service, its dedicated crews, regardless of where they are based, will travel the length and breadth of the country to deliver emergency lifesaving care.

Darren said: “It means a lot on a personal level to be able to help support a Charity that helps save so many lives each year.

“One of my longest serving employees, needed the help of the Wales Air Ambulance, and is thankfully still with us.”

He added: “As a helicopter pilot, I also understand the flying element to the service too, it’s unbelievable what they do under such pressure.

“There are so many things that must be considered even before take-off.

“There’s the logistics, navigating the terrain - some patients can be in hard to access areas, and most importantly providing critical care at the scene.”

Ascona Group has 62 forecourts across the UK and serves 300,000 customers a week. It dispenses 5.0 million litres of motor fuel per week - That's an equivalent of 19 tankers per day.

Valero is a global fuels manufacturer and owns and operates Pembroke Refinery in West Wales. It has taken around 18 months for both companies to rollout the Pennies initiative.

Alison Cousins, Area Sales Manager for Valero Energy Ltd, said: “Valero is proud of our charitable partnership with the Wales Air Ambulance, and is pleased to have been able to support the rollout of Pennies charitable giving across Ascona sites.

“Wales Air Ambulance carry out inspirational, lifesaving work for those who need it most, and we are delighted today to help celebrate the public and Ascona’s generous donation efforts across the communities we are so fortunate to be a part of.”

Customers making a purchase at Ascona’s Valero branded forecourts will see messaging around the campaign on fuel pumps and at the counter.

Geoffrey Harding, Head of Fuel Strategy at Ascona Group, said: “If you pay using the card reader, you will have the option to donate 30p, which Ascona will match up to £100,000.

“For every donation we have seen so far, we have matched, when paid by card.

“We also have donation boxes at the checkout, for anyone paying with cash, who might wish to donate.

“It is totally the customer’s choice, the staff are fully trained to answer any questions the customer has and it’s just a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ option on the card reader, if they wish to add a donation on to their transaction, they can with the added bonus that Ascona will match fund the donation.”

Pennies CEO, Alison Hutchinson CBE, added: “Pennies is proud to partner with Ascona, and congratulations to the team and customers for their amazing fundraising efforts.

“The generosity of Ascona customers and Ascona with their match funding has created tremendous impact for The Wales Air Ambulance.

“Thank you to the Ascona team and to all those customers who press ‘yes’ – your small acts of generosity make such a difference.”

Ascona and Valero’s Pennies’ campaign is raising around £1,200 per week on average. Since its launch in 2010, Pennies has facilitated over 255 million micro-donations, raising £62 million for more than 1,060 charities.

Phae Jones, Director of Income at Wales Air Ambulance said: “We’d like to extend a huge thank you to every customer who has donated over the past six months at Ascona sites.

“We are hugely grateful to Ascona for kindly match-funding all money raised to the value of £100,000. That is an incredibly generous amount, which will help save many lives and will be the company’s second £100,000 donation in the last two years.

“The Valero team are also hugely supportive of the work we do and have been fantastic during the rollout of the Pennies initiative.

“As a Charity, we must raise £11.2 million pounds each year, to keep our helicopters in the sky and rapid response vehicles on the road.

“Partnerships like this are key to enabling us to keep doing what we do.”