THOUSANDS of pounds have been raised for Thames Valley Air Ambulance at a sports dinner held at Reading's Madejski Stadium.

David Wilson Homes Southern raised £37,500 for their chosen charity of the year, Thames Valley Air Ambulance, at the dinner.

Attendees included rugby stars Tom Shanklin and Kelly Brown, in addition to referee Wayne Barnes.

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Samantha Collier, Corporate Partnerships Manager at Thames Valley Air Ambulance, said: “The evening was a great success thanks to the kindness and generosity of David Wilson Homes and all the guests that attended the event.

“This donation will ensure we remain at the frontline of saving lives – we are thrilled and simply cannot thank everyone enough for supporting our vital service.”

Employees at David Wilson Homes Southern have been working hard to raise vital funds for the charity throughout the year and are delighted with the total raised.

Reading Chronicle:

A range of prizes and experiences were awarded throughout the dinner event, through raffles and a silent auction.

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Thames Valley Air Ambulance’s expert teams of paramedics and doctors bring hospital-level care to patients, giving them the possible chance of survival and recovery.

With a doctor onboard, they can bring life-saving skills and experience to the scene of an incident.

The teams of paramedics, doctors and pilots from Thames Valley Air Ambulance can reach an incident in Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire within 15 minutes.

Paul Crispin, Managing Director at David Wilson Homes Southern, said: “We are very pleased our sports dinner raised £37,500 for our charity of the year, Thames Valley Air Ambulance.

Reading Chronicle:

“As a leading housebuilder we understand the importance of supporting charities and communities and strive to give back wherever we can.

“Thames Valley Air Ambulance was chosen as our charity of the year in January and since then our staff have been working to raise funds for the cause, with the main event being our recent sports charity dinner.”

David Wilson Homes Southern’s head office is based in Hungerford, Berkshire and will be choosing its charity of the year for 2020 in January.