To Haiti love and support from Nailsea and Backwell

A NAILSEA fireman who had just returned from Haiti rolled up his sleeves at a charity car wash at the weekend to help raise money for the earthquake victims. 

Firefighters from across Avon Fire & Rescue Service have been raising money for the Haiti earthquake victims and during the past week four charity car washes have been held at Avonmouth, Bath, Portishead and Nailsea.

Each event saw long queues with more than £5,000 raised for the Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC) appeal fund and the Search and Rescue Assistance in Disaster (SARAID) charity.

The car washes followed the return of AF & RS firefighters Rob Davis and Paul Incledon, who spent a week in Haiti as part of their voluntary roles with SARAID.

Paul, aged 37, is a part of the new £1.3million urban search and rescue division which opened at Nailsea last October.

Paul said: “We had a very successful event on Saturday with a steady stream of cars throughout the day. 

“The firefighters, family and members of the rugby club worked really hard all day with little respite. 

“The total raised was just over £1,600 which will go help the two charities to continue their work in disaster stricken areas around the world.

“The Parsons Bakery van pictured being washed had just donated trays of pies to keep us sustained during the day and we had a number of individual donations some more than £40 which boosted the final Nailsea total.”

Bath station manager Rob Davis said: “This is a fantastic achievement for all those involved and I would like to thank members of the community and my colleagues for their generosity and support.

“As a small independent charity, SARAID relies heavily on donations from members of the public and the only way we can continue to provide humanitarian aid is by receiving donations like this.

“All members of SARAID are volunteers and are very dedicated and passionate about the work we do. Many even dip into their own pockets to ensure we can continue to operate as a charity.

“I would also like to thank the families and employers of the SARAID team for their fantastic support as without this many of us would be unable to assist countries like Haiti in their hour of need.”

Nailsea station manager Gary Carr-Smith said: “It’s hard to comprehend the devastation that is facing people in Haiti and the scenes that greeted those from the international rescue community.

“We are all incredibly proud Paul and Rob’s efforts, those of their colleagues in SARAID and of search and rescue teams from around the world.”

The actual amounts raised at each fire station car wash were Avonmouth - £781.94; Bath - £1,597.09; Nailsea - £1,614.32 and Portishead - £1,253.27 making a total of £5,246,62.

Paul added: “Haiti was a harrowing experience and I was shocked at how many bodies I saw.”

The dead toll is estimated at 200,000 with many more injured and 1.5 million homeless.

Major charities like Christian Aid and Oxfam are now turning their attention to the long-term rebuilding and rehabilitation needs of the country.

There is concern about Haiti’s ability to deal with natural disasters, especially as its hurricane season only four months away.

Junior sports enthusiast, schoolchildren, shoppers and the business community have also been busy raising money.

The firemen at Pound Lane were joined by youth team players from Nailsea and Backwell Rugby Club for their car washing stint.

Nailsea & Backwell Rotary Club added to the monies collected locally with a bucket collection.

Club president David Whittlestone  said: “We have been overwhelmed by the generosity of local people in response to this emergency.

“Thanks Somerfields manager Nigel Thompson who placed collecting buckets on the checkouts and our street collectors we raised more than £2,000 in two days. ”

Rotarians from across the area have been collecting monies with the donations going to the DEC appeal, an umbrella group for aid charities including the Red Cross, Oxfam, Christian Aid, Save the Children and Help the Aged.

Children from Golden Valley Primary School held a mufti day with children paying to wear casual clothes in class.

Head teacher Kevin Lynch said: “I would like to thanks everyone for you’re their generosity.

"We have £882.32 raised so far.”

WestLeigh Infant School at Backwell held a Hats For Haiti fundraiser and invited their pupils to wear silly hats the Haiti Earthquake Appeal

The pupils had an assembly about the tragedy and were invited to wear hats and make contributions toward the appeal.

Head teacher Amanda Martin said a marvellous £376.60 was raised.