Running the team

We would like to thank everyone who supported us during the year. Special thanks as always go to our 333 Supporters group they have surpassed themselves again this year – well done. Together with the Oggie 8 event they raised enough funds to cover a third of total income! This was approximately 54% of the running costs of team. I would especially like to thank those who have been promoting sales of merchandise – so if you would like some mugs, buffs, teddy bears, pens, whistles etc. view our merchandise page . Thanks also to all of our supporters with collection boxes the winner of the best box – yet again – the Black Cat, Llandudno Junction. Altogether we have 60 collecting boxes which are still an important source of income.

We continue to reap the benefits of Gift Aid which we claim annually and this has proved to be a very useful addition to our funds. If you donate to us or are a member of 333 please ensure you include a gift aid declaration as it really does mean more money for us.

As always we appreciate the many personal donations we receive but once again we have had to record no less than 22 as ‘unknown’ which we find upsetting as we have not been able to thank the donors personally – some people may prefer to be just anonymous but we have a strong feeling a number of people are missing thank you letters which they would appreciate. If you think you might be one of our ‘unknown’ entries please do contact us as we really would like to say a big thank you to you all.

On the expenditure side we paid for the long anticipated team technical audit which was very successful. First aid cost included two new Automated External Defibrillators machines and a significant investment in training. The equipment officer completed the issue of waterproofs to new team members to standardise the kit issue. Base maintenance was more than anticipated due to the local authority insisting we installed a more modern water purification system.The single greatest expenditure this year was the completion of a project talked about for so many years – so at last we have a super all weather track from the A5 to Base. Now completed it look as though it has been there for years. This will now save significant wear and tear to cars but it has already been muted that we might need a speed limit!

We are totally dependent on volunteers and voluntary donations to make the team work. With no Government funding we have to go out and collect from the public at various times of the year to ensure we are able to maintain the high standards expected of a Mountain Rescue Team. With an annual expenditure of around £55,000 per year the services we provide do not come cheap, but in the current economic climate we know that more of our time will be spent in raising funds to do what we do best, rescue people in distress. Help us to help others by considering donating to the Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Organisation or even better join our supporters group and join a growing band of supporters on one of the busiest Mountain Rescue Teams in the country.