Giving back by volunteering

I’m Joachim Scheffels from South Norfolk and I’ve been volunteering with East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) for four years. I help out at a variety of events from supermarket bucket collections, to helping at stands at summer fetes and fayres, marathons, racing events and biker rallies in aid of EAAA – and of course EAAA’s flagship ‘Only The Brave and Trek 24 fundraising events.

I work full time, but I fit in regular volunteering with EAAA by helping at weekend and evening events, when my other commitments allow. What’s great about volunteering for EAAA is the flexibility; you really can volunteer as little or as often as appropriate for you. Through my workplace, I also have a day’s volunteering allowance each year and, of course I had to allocate it to EAAA. It’s a case of ‘every little helps’ at fundraising and awareness events and I do what I can to raise the profile of EAAA and increase visibility of what we do.

Some highlights from my time as an EAAA volunteer include gaining a track grid pass for the British Touring Cars Championship at Snetterton and being part of the East Anglian Triumph Bike Crowd during their annual meet. In our rural counties, where the air ambulance can make a big difference, it’s wonderful to see the enormous generosity of the public. I can especially recall kindness from events I’ve attended with biker clubs, motorsports and farming events for example. At a particularly memorable occasion at Great Yarmouth races, even some of the bookmakers who had a ‘bad day’ were donating £20 notes in collection buckets at the exit gates. I often see this kind of positive response to the work of EAAA when I’m representing the charity at local events.

I enjoy working with all the staff and volunteers; we meet new people all the time, and I’ve grown in confidence since my own cardiac arrest through sharing stories with members of the public. Every event leaves some memorable and happy moments, as well as some sad and reflective times. People often chat and share personal stories of their connections with EAAA. While some can be quite harrowing and sad, most are very uplifting and, frankly, quite awesome when we hear from former patients and families what the crew and equipment are capable of and what they achieve. Everyone speaks very highly of EAAA, regardless of outcome.

We visit such a rich array of events and wonderful locations – it’s a joy to discover new ones every year. It’s also forms part of my own rehabilitation and regaining my confidence in a number of ways, physically and emotionally having suffered heart damage after my own incident. I also enjoy just being with the staff and the other volunteers at these events who always make it an enjoyable and memorable day, sharing stories and supporting each other for whichever task is required.

In 2025, I’m looking forward to more of the same. It’s always nice to meet new and existing volunteers with whom I have not yet had a chance to share an event with. If you’re thinking of volunteering with EAAA, read some volunteer stories, read some patient stories and then, to use a famous brand’s trademark – JDI! [Just do it] – it would be lovely to meet you!”