Become a supporter
We are always looking for volunteers who can spare time to support the team with fundraising and some of our training. As a voluntary organisation we rely solely on donations to keep the team running. It costs approximatley £25,000 a year to keep the team operational. Most of the donations come from the people that live and work within the area we support.
You could help out the team in the following ways:
- Assist us with street collections
- Help out at shows and events
- Help run talks and demonstrations
- Engage in fundraising activities
- Support us in training sessions
- Become a dog’s body!
Email: membership@swaledalemrt.org.uk
Help out with street collections
Throughout the year, the team are given the opportunity to carry out street collections in some of the main towns across the area. These are a valuable opportunity for the team to not only raise funds for the team. but to also meet the public and answer any questions they may have about the team and the work that we do. We can often be seen in Leyburn, Hawes and Richmond, details will normally be posted on the website of Facebook page.
Support us at shows and events
The team attends many local shows throughout the year, ranging from the traditional dales village shows to the joint emergency services display in Richmond. These allow the team to show the community the work the team has done throughout the year, as well a chance to catch up with some old faces. We always welcome volunteers to support us on the stand, helping demonstrate some of our equipment or talking through the displays.
Help out with talks and demonstrations
The team are often asked to talk to local groups and youth organisations, which also includes hosting visits to our base. We are always happy to support these requests fit them in around our training schedule. We have recently given talks to:
- Several Woman’s Institue groups
- The Young Farmers
- Several Cub and Scout packs
Additional support with these talks and visits is always welcome.
Fundraising activities
There are lots of other ways that you can help the team with fundraising. These include:
- Collection tins in shops and premises
- Fund raising events such as coffee mornings or cake sales
- sponsored walks or challenges
Any support is greatly appreciated.
Training support
The team trains every 2nd and 3rd Wednesday of the month in the evenings and the last Sunday of the month. We are always looking for volunteers to go out onto the fell, or even underground in some cases so we can practice our search and rescue skills.
Our Casualty carers always need caualties to practice on. This ranges from practical deliberate classroom based training, to live training exercises out on the fell. If you could afford to give up a little time it does add to the realism of our training.
Become a dog’s body!
Not only do our 2 legged team members need bodies to support training, our 4 legged members do too. The team search dogs train every Thursday evening on the local area. The bodies support the dogs through all levels of training. Encouraging play and body ofcus in the early stages, to hiding in some fairly tricky spots during the more advanced stages. We have a very dedicated band of bodies who support the training, but will always welcome newcomers.
