Royal Edward Lodge raised an impressive £2125.56 recently for the Freewheelers EVS blood bike service. The cheque was handed over by Charity Steward & Junior Warden Jason Sutton to Freewheeler rider Lewis Griffin (see photograph). An extract from their website is given below as they are a fascinating charity and it is easy to understand why the members of Royal Edward Lodge choose to help them with the fantastic work they do.
Riding For Life
Freewheelers EVS is a registered charity which offers an out of hours, free of charge courier service to the NHS. Freewheelers transport blood, pathology and microbiology specimens, patient notes, X-rays, breast milk and other medical supplies, plus deliver every night to two local Air Ambulance bases. During the Covid year 2020-21, we made over 7792 deliveries, riding more than 225,000 miles. Our slogan “Riding For Life” describes our operation perfectly. We ride to play our part in saving people’s lives, we ride to help the NHS divert money that would otherwise be spent on taxis or expensive couriers, but more than anything else we ride because we love it and wish to put something back into the community.
In 2008, in recognition of the dedicated work of our volunteers, we were given The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service. This is the highest honour a voluntary group can receive, equivalent in status to an MBE. In 2020, we celebrated our 30th year as a charity ‘Riding for Life’. Our service is provided entirely by volunteers and we depend fully on public sponsorship and donations.
