Newquay Cornwall Airport
Cornwall Community Foundation – NQY’s named inward facing charity.
Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly are well known right across the world, as an area of outstanding natural beauty, but just a short seagull's flight from some of the most stunning beaches in the UK there are serious pockets of deprivation, on a par with the poorest parts of Europe.
At Newquay Cornwall Airport we are committed to taking care of our environment, and the people who live here, and have worked hard to create a long term Corporate Social Responsibility policy (CSR).
As part of that policy we are members of the Cornwall Community Foundation's Cornwall 100 club. This club now has over 70 members and the businessmen who join up are passionate about helping those in need, and really want to make a difference locally.
It is believed that 75% of money raised for charity currently leaves the county, and Isles of Scilly but the money raised by this club stays here, to improve the lives of everyone right across the county, older, younger, disadvantaged and those with disabilities and challenges.
Cornwall has more volunteers’ per capita head than any other county, and we are proud of that Cornish Spirit. People who are working hard every day to help local people, the unseen, unsung heroes working on our doorsteps.
Many of these groups are struggling - government funding cuts, recession, Convergence coming to an end, and many have no one else to turn to for financial help. The grants that the C100 make, really can make a difference and improve the lives of so many in the Duchy.
Together - we really can make a difference! Newquay Cornwall Airport proudly supports Cornwall Community Foundation.
Shelterbox – NQY’s preferred outward facing charity.
40 Tonnes of Humanitarian Aid Flown from Newquay Cornwall Airport to Help the Haiti Disaster
Forty tonnes of emergency aid was flown to Haiti from Newquay Cornwall Airport in January 2010 as ShelterBox's massive aid operation to the earthquake-stricken country continues. There was enough emergency shelter for 7,000 people loaded onto a chartered Airbus A300 and flown for Haiti via Jacksonville to refuel and then on to nearby Santa Domingo to be transferred immediately to the devastated island. To add to the problems there is no aviation fuel on the island so only aircraft with plenty of fuel are allowed to land. The first aid from the international disaster relief charity arrived in Port au Prince on Tuesday with hundreds more ShelterBoxes due to land on a chartered flight from Miami yesterday. Disaster relief tents have already been used to build an emergency field hospital at Port au Prince airport. Because of the logistical nightmare of getting aid into Haiti, ShelterBox has used a variety of means to get aid into the island including flying boxes on a Red Cross plane from France and on Virgin Atlantic flights via London Heathrow. So far, 1,700 ShelterBoxes have been dispatched. Securing a chartered aircraft for 700 more ShelterBoxes means thousands of people in Haiti left homeless by last week's devastating earthquake will be receiving disaster relief tents.
ShelterBox's Founder and CEO Tom Henderson said: 'In terms of logistics, the aid operation in Haiti has been ShelterBox's most challenging in the last decade. With only one airport on the island which has shut until 36 hours ago and the port shut as well, we have had to find ways to get into Port au Prince by any means possible. As food, water and medicines are starting to get in, the focus now is fulfilling the need for emergency shelter.
All 40 tonnes of emergency aid were transferred to a chartered Airbus A300 at Newquay Cornwall Airport with the help of volunteers from the airport and RAF Culdrose. Newquay Cornwall Airport volunteered to keep the airfield open beyond the usual 22:00pm closing in order to allow the flight to depart. Richard Thomasson, Airport Operations Manager at Newquay Cornwall Airport said: 'The aircraft departed Newquay at 01:05am having been successfully loaded with 40 tonnes of humanitarian aid. The loading process was a great team effort and would like to thank everyone involved in making the flight happen.'
Public donations are vital to ShelterBox's continuing work around the world. To make a donation please ring 0300 0300 500 or go to www.shelterbox.org/ to donate online and get the latest updates on the charity's response to the Haiti earthquake.
Cornwall Air Ambulance Trust
The charity is very proud of recent announcements relating to the development of a new operations facility on the outskirts of Newquay Cornwall Airport.
For more information about CAAT and for regular announcements about their new operations facility at NQY follow this link.
Greenpower
Cornwall College brings annual Greenpower race back to county.
Over a thousand school pupils gathered at Newquay Cornwall Airport on Thursday 23rd June to race electric cars that they designed and built from scratch.
The annual Cornwall College South West Regional Heat of the Greenpower schools electric car races, organised by Cornwall College, which along with teachers and parents saw over 1500 people through the gates, is the culmination of months of hard work from primary and secondary schools across the region and further afield.
Greenpower is a competition which allows children to design and build electric cars, finding their own sponsors, resources and support they need to make their designs reality. The project incorporates maths, engineering, physics, design, marketing, team building, technology, problem solving & communication, and following its proven success in these areas, many schools now incorporate Greenpower into their curriculum.
The Greenpower project aims to spark students' interest in engineering and technology in an exciting and unique way. The South West heat includes the 'Goblin Formula', a kit car which has been built by the teams during the last year, where students from around 50 local primary schools raced to the finish for their chance to receive one of the trophies for a number of different categories.
The 'Formula 24' race was for secondary school pupils who were provided with only an electric engine and some batteries from which to design and build their vehicle. Many of the teams have been sponsored and supported in the construction of their electric cars by local engineering businesses.
Now in its fourth year in Cornwall, the Cornwall College South West Regional Heat is the UK's largest and fastest growing event. Vaughan Curnow, Apprenticeship Liaison Officer for Cornwall College Business (CCB) has been instrumental in bringing Greenpower to Cornwall.
Vaughan said: "Greenpower presented an opportunity to get young people engaged in a project that not only promotes engineering but encourages the use of so many other skills. By showing students what they can do it builds their interest in a subject they otherwise would not even consider a career in which is why there is not enough new talent entering the engineering industry. The event grows bigger each year which goes to show that children are interested in new subjects and do want to learn."
All the racing teams were cheered on by their team mates and class mates, as well as the helpers, supporters and sponsors of each schools car.
Al Titterington, Newquay Cornwall Airport's Managing Director said: "It is the third consecutive year we have staged the event at the Airport and it is rewarding to see the children enjoying all of the hard work they have put in. Working in partnership with Cornwall College and Greenpower enables the airport to continue its work with the local community and judging by the success of Greenpower 2011, long will our association with the event continue."
Schools not already involved who would like to take part in next year's event can email greenpower@cornwall.ac.uk to register their interest.
