We'd like to thank The Tudwick Foundation for your continued support of BASICS Essex. Your funding will help us to be of even greater voluntary life-saving service in 2024 and beyond!

We are delighted to announce that we have received a £400 donation from the Asda Foundation as part of their Green Token Giving programme. This programme allows customers to vote for local charities to receive funding from Asda. Dr Ian Gibson MBE, our Honorary President, and Christine Winzar, our Community Fundraising Officer, went to Asda Basildon Eastgate today to collect the cheque and thank the staff and customers for their support. The Green Token Giving programme is a way for Asda to support local charities and good causes in the communities where they operate. Customers are given green tokens at the checkout, which they can use to vote for their preferred charity or cause. At the end of each voting period, the Asda Foundation donates a share of the funding to the chosen charities. This donation will help us continue our vital work of providing advanced life-saving pre-hospital care in Essex. Our volunteer doctors and paramedics are available 24/7 to respond to emergencies and provide life-saving medical interventions on scene. We'd like to thank the Asda Foundation and all the customers who voted for them in the Green Token Giving programme. Their support is greatly appreciated and will make a real difference to the charity's ability to save lives in the local community. If you would like to support us further, you can donate online, join our weekly charity lottery, or take part in one of our upcoming events. Thank you for your kindness and generosity.

For more information, please see https://www.basicsessex.org.uk/recruitment

We were honoured to receive a cheque for £500 from Waitrose, thanks to customers at the Buckhurst Hill branch who voted for us. Our Community Fundraiser, Christine, attended the ceremony along with representatives from the other charities and the Waitrose store manager. Thank you to Waitrose and everyone at the branch who voted for BASICS Essex. Each quarter, every Waitrose branch donates £2,000 to good causes as part of their Community Matters scheme. Customers are given green tokens at the checkout to vote for the cause they'd most like to support. The scheme has been running for over 10 years, and over £10m has been donated to 30,000 good causes.

We are extremely grateful, following a successful bid, to have been granted £25,000 from the British Association for Immediate Care, enabled by the #HELPAppeal fund. This will allow us to equip two of our responders with an X-Series Zoll Defibrillator, enabling them to enhance the care delivered on scene.

Following the generous grant from County Air Ambulance Trust's #HELPappeal to BASICS, we have been able to purchase new PPE for all our autonomous responders. These Manta4 helmets will be carried by each of the schemes volunteer doctors and paramedics who respond across Essex.

Next year, Basics Essex will have provided voluntary care across Essex for 50 years. As we move our charity forward, we are looking to get help from a PR Officer. If you work in this field and are interested in volunteering some of your spare time to help a 999 emergency medical charity increase its relationships and engagement with the local community, please get in touch at office@basicsessex.org.uk

We recently held a formal launch for our new #XC3 Rapid Response Vehicle that was generously donated to us by Smarter Metering Services Limited and Gas Emergency UK. The event was kindly hosted by Benton Hall Golf, Health & Country Club. In attendance was the Essex High Commissioner, Simon Brice, who awarded our Chairman, Paul Gates, with the High Sheriff Award. Paul said on Twitter: "Deeply honoured to be presented @Essex_HS award by the High Sheriff for my work with @BasicsEssex. Thank you to all who nominated me." Thank you to everyone involved, and to the continued support from our volunteers, donors and supporters.

This Christmas we've got two brilliant hampers to give away around Essex, thanks to Waitrose and our local business supporters. Raffle tickets cost just £1. Draws will take place on 1st January 2022. All money raised will go to BASICS Essex to support our volunteer doctors and paramedics to provide emergency lifesaving care. The first hamper raffle is at Dunne Animal Feeds in Horndon-on-the-Hill. Located just a few minutes drive from Basildon. For directions and contact details, click here. The second hamper raffle is at The Three Horseshoes in Athorne. Located 5 minutes from Burnham-on-Crouch. For directions and contact details, click here. Thank you for supporting BASICS Essex and we wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!

In October we fundraised at the Braintree Real Ale Festival, and were joined by the MP for Braintree, James Cleverly. Thanks to everyone who donated!

We now have a new Enhanced Care Car, thanks to a generous donation from Smarter Metering Services Limited!

"I wish to express my heartfelt thanks to BASICS Essex Volunteer Critical Care Paramedic Laurie, who administered my pain relief with a calming reassurance, whist I was lying in the middle of a busy road junction, after being hit by a car. I was feeling scared, in pain and at my most vulnerable. Triaging me at the scene, ensured that I had a fast transition from ambulance to hospital" If you have a patient experience and would like to share your story, please contact us.