Charity cookbook raises thousands for Air Ambulance

Almost £9,000 has been raised for the Air Ambulances of the South West through the fundraising efforts of rural insurance company Cornish Mutual.

This includes over £7,000 from the sale of the 'Come Together, Eat Together' charity cookbook, which will be split between the three Air Ambulance charities and will undoubtedly help keep the essential services flying.

Cornish Mutual Insurance Inspector Jacqui Knell recently met with Caroline Creer from the Devon Air Ambulance Trust (both pictured) to see the work of the paramedics at the Middlemoor base in Exeter.

Copies of the book which featured recipes from well-known local chefs including Jacques Marchal were sold online, at the county's agricultural shows and other events, as well as by the charity's volunteer fundraisers and at Devon Air Ambulance charity shops.

Each copy costs £5 and includes more than 30 favourite recipes by cooking enthusiasts and families from across the county. There are still a few copies available to buy online at - all proceeds go directly to the Cornwall, Devon and Dorset & Somerset Air Ambulances.

The 'Come Together, Eat Together' cookbook was launched by rural insurance firm Cornish Mutual, as part of its campaign to get families eating together. The campaign followed research, released earlier this year, which showed that almost half of families in Devon no longer ate together at least once a day.

Jacqui Knell, Cornish Mutual Inspector in Devon, said: "We are really passionate about supporting the vital and often life-saving work of the Air Ambulance and we have been absolutely delighted with the overwhelming response that we have received from our Members, staff and the general public. It goes without saying that we wouldn't have been able to provide the financial support without their help, generous contributions and sterling fundraising efforts and we're very grateful for that."

Caroline Creer, Fundraising Director with the Devon Air Ambulance said: "It is great that Cornish Mutual's charity cookbook has been such an inspiration to so many people and in the process raised much-needed funds. Because we are a charity and don't receive any form of Government funding, we rely entirely on our supporters to keep the Air Ambulance flying, so the donations we receive from initiatives such as this make a real and tangible difference to our work. Copies of the book are still available at our shops throughout the county."

Cornish Mutual provides farm, household, commercial, events and personal accident insurance to Members throughout the rural communities of Cornwall, Devon, Somerset and Dorset.

To find out more about the 'Come Together, Eat Together' campaign and to order a copy of the cookbook, visit
www.eattogether.co.uk/order