Cornwall Air Ambulance Trust (CAAT) has returned to Truro city centre with a new flagship shop in River Street, a year and a half after its previous store closed in search of larger premises.
The charity now occupies the unit formerly used by White Stuff. The shop enjoyed an official opening at 10am on Thursday [July 10], with a countdown by town crier Lionel Knight and a ribbon-cutting by Cornwall and city councillor Steven Webb, who travelled in the first air ambulance 34 years ago, and veteran fundraiser Jean Douce.
CAAT chief executive Tim Bunting said: “It has been exactly 565 days since our last Truro store closed, and we are so delighted to return to Cornwall’s capital. This is a key location, in the city centre with lots of passing traffic. For us, it really is our flagship store. I hope people will come down and find high-quality bargains.
The charity sold 360,000 pre-loved items last year, which represented a third of all those donated. “Our shops are an essential part of what we do,” said Mr Bunting. “They raise awareness of our work and highlighting volunteering opportunities – and of course, every penny spent here saves lives.”
At 92, Mrs Douce, of Lowen Court, has been an active fundraiser through groups including Knit and Natter and Coppers for the Choppers. “I have always supported the air ambulance,” she said.
Cllr Webb was flown to Salisbury by the first iteration of the air ambulance in 1991, following a swimming pool accident that left him tetraplegic aged just 18. He was named as the charity’s first patient ambassador earlier this year.
“I would have been offended if they hadn’t asked me to open the shop,” he laughed. “It’s so nice to see them back in Truro. The charity does such too amazing a job across the whole of Cornwall for it not to have a presence in the capital.
“What is great is to see the same volunteers returning. It shows loyalty to the foundations of what the air ambulance stands for.”
The event occurred in the same week that the trust’s second helicopter arrived in Cornwall, following a £2.85 million fundraising appeal under the banner #heli2. Cllr Webb raised thousands of pounds last year by travelling round Cornwall in his electric wheelchair in a quest labelled The Cornwall 500.
“To see the second helicopter arrive in Cornwall, and to see people welcoming it as it flew overhead, was really quite overwhelming - it shows how Cornwall really has embraced it,” he said.
“The new helicopter will be enable the air ambulance to extend its operating hours and fly in more adverse conditions. That means it will be able to help more people, just as it helped me over 30 years ago.”
Visitors to the store will have the opportunity to enter a raffle to win a magnificent patchwork quilt. Tickets cost £5 each and the winner will be drawn on Friday, July 18.
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