A total of 42 members of staff from local SPAR and EUROSPAR stores battled it out in the annual Dragon Boat Race recently, raising £8,723 for Air Ambulance NI (AANI), which will potentially help three future patients of Helicopter Emergency Medical Service.

The popular event saw teams racing against each other in authentic dragon boats along the River Lagan. Team members from eight SPAR and EUROSPAR stores in Portadown, Dungannon, Armagh, Lurgan, Dromore, Lisburn and Larne volunteered to take part.

One EUROSPAR team was recognised as the top fundraisers of this year’s event, raising over £5,900. The top fundraising team was made up of staff from P&G EUROSPAR Portadown, EUROSPAR Donaghmore, EUROSPAR Ranfurly and EUROSPAR Dromore.

AANI bring the emergency room where it is needed most, whether that is at the roadside or in a farmyard, attending some of the most traumatic medical incidences across the country every day. Donations are critical to keep AANI in the air and responding to the country’s most critical accidents.

Bronagh Luke from SPAR NI commented, “We were thrilled to sponsor the Dragon Boat Race this year and to have teams from eight of our stores taking part, raising funds for such a deserving charity.

“£8,723 is an amazing total and will be a huge help to AANI to keep the Helicopter Emergency Medical Service in the sky, saving lives across the country every single day. Each day it costs £6,850 to keep the air ambulance service operational, so it’s great to know our store teams have contributed to ensuring sustainability of this service for our local community.

“We’re so proud of everyone who took part, and I want to congratulate the top fundraisers.”

Colleen Milligan from Air Ambulance NI added, “We want to thank SPAR NI both for their sponsorship of this event, but also to their store team members who took part and raised an incredible amount of money. It means so much to us to receive this support and enables us to continue saving lives across Northern Ireland. Thank you to all who took part and showed their support, we are so grateful. Overall, the Dragon Boat Race raised over £40,000 for the charity”.

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