Why it matters
Your fundraising keeps ambulance services free.
Each year, Wellington Free Ambulance must fundraise around $8million to ensure emergency ambulance services can remain free to anyone in Greater Wellington and Wairarapa.
As an essential health service, Wellington Free does receive funding from Government but we need the support of our community to ensure our team have the ambulances, equipment, and resources they need to respond 24/7, 365 days a year.
Your support is absolutely vital in ensuring Wellington Free Ambulance remains free of charge to anyone in our community.
The funds you donate or raise will help buy....
Blood glucose monitor $40
Used to measure blood sugar levels. Crucial for managing and preventing potential health problems, especially for people who have diabetes.
Transwarmer – baby warming blanket $105
Disposable, gel filled matttress used to provide warmth and prevent hypothermia in our smallest patients. Especially helpful to maintain body temperature in newborns.
Digital thermometer $325
Used for just about every patient to measure body temperature. It is used to detect low or high body temperature which is helpful to diagnose infection or other illness.
NeoMate $2,259
Designed to attach to a stretcher, ensures infants and babies can be safely transported in an ambulance. It has a five-point harness system just like a car seat to provide stability and minimize movement during transport.
You’ll be helping people like...
Meet Barry
“The paramedics saved my life. I have no doubt about that"
On the Saturday morning the ambulance came, Barry had fallen to the ground twice “for no good reason”. There was no pain, no warning - just everything going black.
Thankfully, he had a medical alarm beside his bed.
“I pressed the emergency button, and the company called the ambulance. That was a great relief, because we really didn’t know what was happening.”
Barry had previously been diagnosed with a slow heart rate, but he hadn’t connected that to the fainting episodes.
“In retrospect, it became clear what was happening,” he says. “My heart was stopping intermittently. The electrical signals between the chambers weren’t working properly. It was what they call a heart block. The signals from the top chambers to the bottom chambers weren’t getting through. My heart was making up its mind whether to beat or not.”
Meet Robin
“I’m absolutely sure that the fast response and treatment influenced my quick recovery”
Robin’s day started like any other. Her work as a physiotherapist saw her visiting patients in the community. But when she returned to the office, Robin noticed that she was starting to feel unwell – dizzy and nauseated with a headache and loss of balance.
As a trained physio, Robin was aware that what she might be experiencing was a sudden onset of vestibular neuritis. Vestibular neuritis is an inflammation of the inner ear's balance system, causing symptoms like sudden, severe dizziness (vertigo), nausea, and balance difficulties.
“Every time I moved my head the world would swim, my eyes were starting to twist and swim, and I was losing focus, the nausea was extreme. In the space of around 15 minutes, I went from thinking someone needed to drive me home to needing an ambulance. Things got serious fast.” Explained Robin
Why is it Onesie?
We call it Onesie because we are the ONE’s (111) for Greater Wellington and Wairarapa, the only ambulance service in our region and the only ambulance service in New Zealand that is free.
Each year we aim to raise over $250,000 to support our services through this appeal. People can donate online, sign up to fundraise, and get their friends, family and whānau to support them (great for businesses and schools), or give to one of our volunteers during the street collection.
Whatever you choose to do, we are grateful for your support. Everything you raise or donate goes towards keeping our ambulance service free of charge for anyone who needs us.
Everything you donate or fundraise keeps the FREE in Wellington Free Ambulance.