A little before the pandemic struck, an officer at HMP Frankland raised a few hundred pounds for Daft As A Brush, in memory of his mother Florence, who used the DAAB transport, whilst undergoing treatment at the RVI Newcastle.
Then I suggested, wouldn’t it be great if we could raise enough money to buy a brand new ambulance for DAAB? Everyone thought I was a little bonkers because we had to raise £27k!
All through the pandemic and after, prisoners and staff at Frankland continually raised funds, by all means, culminating in five staff from Frankland performing the Full Monty in front of two hundred staff, raising 11k alone.
The Prison Service Charity Fund was also very instrumental in further assisting the staff at Frankland with their fundraising and by the middle of 2022, we were left with a couple of thousand to raise and very kindly the company that prints all our stationery, Potts Print UK, donated the balance and the funds were all raised.
The new ambulance was delivered in September, followed shortly after by presentations at St.Godric’s RC School and HMP Frankland and will shortly be on the roads of the North East, serving those unfortunate people having treatment for cancer.
John H White MBE
Secretary
PSCF
