BVARC Annual Radio Rally 2022

Bushvalley Amateur Radio Club usually hold their annual radio rally on the first Sunday in November, however due to Covid restrictions this had not been possible during 2020 & 2021.Thankfully 2022 saw a relaxation of the restrictions and the club held their rally on 6th November in Limavady.  Earlier in the year the chairman Jack Doyle, MI0JPD, suggested that the club should try to organise a fund-raising event for Air Ambulance Northern Ireland.

Following on from this, it was decided that the rally would be an ideal opportunity to host such an event and that 100% of the proceedings would be donated to the charity.  Initially the target set by the club was to raise £1,000 and the wheels were set in motion to attempt to reach this amount. The committee concurred that the best way to bolster the funds was to hold a raffle on the day of the rally along with a small, (£3), admission fee. Various sponsors were approached for prizes and incredibly over £1,000 of prizes were generously donated by several companies, making the raffle very attractive to prospective participants.  Rather than selling tickets “per se”, it was decided to ask for donations to the fund raiser and in return, depending on the value of the donation, the donors would have either 1, 5, 10 or 15 entries into the draw for some excellent raffle prizes.

It soon became evident that the target of £1,000 was going to be reached and a new figure of £1,500 became the objective, however once again this became a realistic rather than an optimistic goal. 

The weather Gods were shining on the day of the rally ensuring a good turnout of radio enthusiasts who kindly supported this very worthy charity with their donations.  As the day progressed it was becoming obvious that not only would the figure of £1,500 be achieved but was likely to be easily surpassed.

Eventually, after all monies had been accounted for, the club raised an incredible £2,419.55 which they topped up to £2,500. Bushvalley Amateur Radio Club would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank everyone that attended and/or gave so generously in aid of their fund-raising effort.

Kerry Anderson from the charity, Air Ambulance NI said, “On behalf of everyone at the charity we would like to thank Bushvalley Amateur Radio Club for holding their event to raise funds to keep the air ambulance flying.  The medical team are needed on average twice a day and these funds could go towards any number of costs including helicopter rental, fuel or upkeep of the aviation air base. Thanks to everyone in the club!”

Further information on the club is available at www.bushvalleyarc.org or email bushvalleyarc@gmail.com and on the charity at www.airambulanceni.org