The Rotary Club Estoi Palace International is to deliver a spanking new ambulance to the volunteer firefighters of São Brás.
The ambulance was considered somewhat of a necessity for the São Brás Bombeiros service which covers many small villages and isolated homes, many accessible only by dirt tracks usually in a very poor condition.
"Only one of the five ambulances they have is properly equipped to administer the treatment required during the transfer of patients to the Faro hospital," commented a Rotary member.
In 2012 the local São Brás community started to fundraising for a new vehicle and managed to collect an impressive €4,000 towards the purchase of an ambulance. This was a good start but way below the €60,000 needed.
When the Rotary Club Estói Palace International learned of the efforts that were being made by the local community it contacted the São Brás Bombeiros and discussed the possibility of providing them a new ambulance.
A financial plan was developed by Rotary to raise money to purchase and donate a new, fully equipped ambulance, at a total cost of €54,602.
The coordinator of the Rotary Club International Estoi Palace, Chris Garner, contacted other Rotary clubs in various districts and managed to obtain much of the necessary funds through the Rotary Foundation matching grant scheme.
Late last summer matched funding was approved by the Rotary Foundation in Chicago, USA, and the Rotary Club International Estói Palace was helped with donations from other Rotary Clubs to achieve the financial goal.
The official ceremony to hand over the keys to the new ambulance to the Bombeiros will serve as a testament to the fundraising power of Rotary in the Algarve and will help the Bombeiros in their mission to save lives.
This is the second sizeable donation to local community services as the same Rotary Club managed to raise sufficient funds to provide the Algarve's Banco Alimentar (Food Bank) with a new chilled distribution vehicle last summer.
