Thanks for taking the time to visit the East Anglia Motorcycle Run SERV JustGiving page.

The run held on 5th September 2010 was a great success, with requests to organise another, so here we go..........

The 2011 motorcycle run will be taking place on Sunday 4th September.  Our thanks to Karl Rout owner of the Orwell Crossing Truck Stop who has given us permission to use the truck stop once again. 

This year we will be supporting two local charities:  The East Anglia's Children's Hospices and SERV (Suffolk) - Service by Emergency Rider Volunteers.

We will have a new route, which will be around 70-90 miles.  Keep watching the website for further updates and registration etc.

As with the last event, we will be looking for lead riders again and people to help on the day for marshalling at the truck stop and also for registration.  You can contact me through the website if you would like to help.

www.eastangliamotorcyclerun.co.uk

Thank you for your support - Bev Lambert

SERV - also known as the 'Blood Runners'

We are a charitable organisation that delivers blood products to the emergency and accident hospitals across Southern England at night free of charge whenever and wherever it's urgently needed.

SERV is a Registered Charity (No. 284455) run by dedicated volunteer motorcyclists and drivers who give their time and petrol to do their bit using their bikes and cars to help others who need emergency supplies of blood.

SERV provides a service that has saved many lives. The volunteers fund SERV at their own expense and by donations - so if you are looking for a worthy charity to support please contact us Remember, it's not just the volunteers who save lives, it could also be you !

How SERV Works

Once a hospital has contacted the blood bank and ordered the blood, they contact the office and a rider is dispatched immediately to the blood bank, with an insulated medically approved blood bag. This ensures that the blood or blood product is properly insulated and protected from extremes of temperature. Once the blood product is placed within the bag and sealed it will remain inside until it arrives at the hospital that requested it. If it is for a hospital in another county, then while the main rider leaves to go to the blood bank, the office calls the duty coordinator of the county that covers that particular hospital, who then dispatches their duty rider from his/her home to a transfer point to await the arrival of the main rider.

All riders must follow a set route to each hospital. This is to ensure that should a breakdown occur, a relief rider could be dispatched knowing where the rider should be at any time during the run. This saves time and effort and ensures that there is as little delay to the run as possible.

The number of calls received by the control room averages 3 calls a night, not including transfers. The most calls received in one night were 17.

Over 16,000 runs have been carried out so far.

The Aims of SERV

• SERV aims to supply a safe, quick and reliable service to local hospitals and doctors for the transport of Emergency Blood and Blood products.
• SERV will also transport emergency medical equipment, drugs and donor organs if requested to do so.
• SERV will also transport between hospitals in cases of emergency. At night, free of any charge this will release more money for patient care.
• This service is provided between the hours of 7pm and 6am, 7 nights a week, 52 weeks of the year.
• SERV also supplies 24hr cover over the Christmas and New Year Bank Holidays.
• All of our members are volunteers and receive no recompense for their time or out of pocket expenses.

SERV's Future

With the ever-increasing need for the health service to save much needed funds, but to ensure good patient care, the demands upon the charity grow each year.

In the beginning only Surrey and Outer London Hospitals required or saw the need for this service, now there are three counties who require the service with more requesting it each year.

SERV needs to grow to meet the increasing demands being placed upon it, but this growth, as explained in previous sections of this booklet, is restricted to its ability to fund and maintain the service. The willingness to do so is there, as is the availability of members to back up the service. The stumbling block is FUNDS, though the membership is determined to try its hardest to meet the needs of the medical section and supply the service that is so obviously needed.

With help this service can grow and help to save more lives, by saving the hospitals money as well as providing a quick and reliable means of Transporting Emergency Blood at night.

If you would like to join SERV, please visit our website www.serv.org.uk for more details and contact information.

If you are interested in joining the Suffolk group of SERV please contact us using this link.

membership.suffolk@serv.org.uk

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.