Why I volunteer…
I heard about Northumbria Blood Bikes from my wife who works at the RVI and I had seen the team when dropping her off. I have always been a biker and thought I’d check out the website to see what it was all about.
I joined in March 2020… Just before COVID hit!
Thought I could manage to donate some time when the wife was working nights or weekends and wanted to help out
I volunteer as a Controller & Driver. I also do some fundraising at work for the charity.
As I work full time, season ticket holder at footy and Grandad duties aplenty I have to pick and choose my shifts to fit it into my daily life. Being able to Control as well as Drive gives me a few more options to pick a shift that suits me best.
The best experience since I joined the team was being part of the Santa Run delivering presents to all the hospitals. Especially as accompanied by the fab little Bea.
A couple of years back when on control I took a call from a consultant who was in the operating room at the Freeman Hospital. He asked if we were able to collect at our highest priority, two boxes of ‘Emergency’ blood from NHSBT. The patient, still on the table, had taken all the blood they had and still needed more. We dropped everything currently on the go, dispatched a driver, and had the blood collected and delivered within 15 minutes of ending the call. It was a great feeling that we may have contributed directly to someone in their time of need.
Managing the team on Control and driving the car both leave you with a bit of pride within yourself and the satisfaction that you have been part of an important job well done. Working in an office within the automotive sector you just don’t get that same feeling of making a difference.
My name is Craig and that’s why I volunteer for Northumbria Blood Bikes.”
To sign up or for more information on our volunteer roles visit: http://www.northumbriabloodbikes.org.uk/support/volunteer