A dedicated volunteer for Air Ambulance Charity Kent Surrey Sussex (KSS) is celebrating 37 years of service.
With Giving Tuesday just around the corner, David Mantz is being praised as a prime example of the difference a person can make by volunteering for a cause close to their heart.
KSS was founded in 1989 – but David started volunteering for the organisation two years before its inception after hearing from the charity’s founder Kate Chivers and her vision for an air ambulance in Kent. Since then, David has done everything he can to support KSS.
As one of KSS’s first volunteers, David has paved the way for many others to follow in his footsteps, and today there are more than 100 active volunteers supporting KSS.
As a passionate advocate for KSS, David has delivered talks to community groups across Kent, Surrey and Sussex, inspiring and generating support.
He has helped to raise over £60K for KSS, from over 100 talks he has delivered, raffle tickets sold, donations made at events and more. Together with his wife, also a KSS volunteer, David has packaged and sent out thousands of Christmas cards to supporters over the years – David has trained other volunteers in this activity and has in turn, saved KSS thousands of pounds that would have otherwise been spent to outsource the work.
“David has devoted 37 years to supporting KSS, which we are so very thankful for. He saw the vision from our founder and amazingly committed two years to helping raise funds before we even had our first helicopter. We are now a world-leading provider of pre-hospital critical care, and have attended over 46,000 missions since we were founded. We owe David and his family our sincere thanks and appreciation for the years of dedication, generosity and kindness he has committed to KSS and the communities we serve.”
“David’s commitment and dedication has helped transform this ambitious charity into an invaluable and essential service that is saving lives across Kent, Surrey and Sussex safe. The focus on raising both funds and awareness amongst the local community shows us how people can use their skills and voice to inspire others and make a real difference. We hope David’s story gets people thinking about how they can support their local charities this Giving Tuesday, so together we can transform our communities for the better.”
David was appointed as Director of Air Ambulance Promotions Limited (AAPL), KSS’ wholly owned trading company raising funds for KSS through the delivery of the KSS lottery and selling of merchandise, in March 2001 and through this role has witnessed and supported the medical advances that KSS’s teams have made in the charity’s 35-year history. This includes the move to carry blood and doctors on board, becoming the first 24/7 Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) in the country, and serving the communities of Kent, Surrey and Sussex with two AW169 helicopters that the charity now proudly owns.
Within his Director’s role David helps to oversee the running of KSS’s lottery and raffles, the charity’s biggest income stream raising £95.5M since he first joined.
