The Tweed Valley team's ageing control vehicle needs replacing
A mountain rescue team is asking people to buy it a drink as the festive season approaches.
The Tweed Valley team wants outdoor fans to dip into their pockets and stump up for a ‘virtual pint’.
The team, which has 40 members, is asking members of the public to donate the price of a pint towards the cost of a new incident control vehicle to replace its ageing existing vehicle.
Tweed Valley MRT member Dave Wright said: “The initiative will see the existing 15-year-old vehicle retired and replaced with a new vehicle which will be more reliable and equipped with technology such as a satellite data connection, touch-screen computers for search planning and the most up-to-date communications equipment.
“The new vehicle is likely to cost in the region of £60,000 which will need to be sourced through fundraising efforts.
“The team is starting its festive fundraising for this project by asking members of the public to buy them a ‘virtual pint’ via a donation on the team’s Virgin Money Giving page.”
The team covers a large area in the South of Scotland, including West Lothian, Mid-Lothian, City of Edinburgh and the Borders area to the West of the A68.
Mr Wright, who is deputy team leader, added: “Raising funds for a state-of-the art incident command vehicle will be a challenging project and will take a number of months to complete.
“We thought that asking members of the public to donate the cost of a pint at the start of the festive period was a good way to kick off the fundraising.”
Donations can be made on the team’s Virgin Money Giving page. http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/charity-web/charity/finalCharityHomepage.action?charityId=1005371
