Gala Dinner

The Thames Valley & Chiltern Air Ambulance was started in June 1998. It has flown over 10,000 missions to date and is funded entirely by voluntary contributions from fund raising events, individual and company donations. There is no lottery or Government funding. The cost to keep the Air Ambulance flying is £125,000, and the only central government support is the paramedics who are paid for by the NHS.

The Reading and Wokingham Lions Gala Dinner is a very professionally run fund raising event, organised by the combined Lions clubs of Reading and Wokingham. The committee have organised seven Gala Dinners, raising in excess of £110,000. The aim of each Dinner is to raise at least £15,000 which would provide fuel for the helicopter for six months.

The Dinner in 2008 has always been held at The Copped Beech Hotel with the generous support of the Hotel and it's owners. Past celebrities have included:- The Earl & Countess Wessex, Sir Matthew Pinsent, Martin Bell OBE, Ian McCaskill, Richard Pitman and Tom O'Conner.