EAAA Statement: Lottery Canvassing

In line with guidelines from Public Health England and the Institute of Fundraising, East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) will be resuming some of its public fundraising activities from Monday 13 July, where social distancing can be observed. 

EAAA relies almost entirely on public donations to remain operational; the impact of Covid-19 has meant that many events and fundraising initiatives have been cancelled or postponed until 2021.

Due to lockdown easing from 4 July, the charity has undertaken a detailed risk assessment to evaluate which areas of fundraising can be safely restarted.

Based on the results and to ensure the charity can maintain a sustainable income, the decision has been made to restart lottery canvassing in pre-approved low risk areas from 13 July.

The EAAA lottery generates almost 45% of the entire charity income and lottery canvassing is the best way to recruit new players. By restarting canvassing, the charity can make positive steps towards raising the vital funds needed to continue saving lives in Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire.

The health and safety of the community is of utmost importance to the charity; to deliver this type of fundraising safely, training has been provided to all lottery canvassers. Each one will be adhering to strict measures, including:

• All canvassers will follow social distancing rules and remain a 2-metre distance away from households
• Any signups or donations will be processed using contactless technology
• All canvassers will be wearing PPE, including face masks and shields, gloves and using hand sanitizer
• Canvassers will avoid visiting homes where people are likely to be shielding, such as retirement homes or sheltered housing. They will also avoid visiting homes where it will be impossible to maintain social distancing, such as an area which has a large proportion of flats

This decision will be reviewed on a weekly basis as we closely observe updates from the government and gain experience from our canvassing.

Thank you – together we save lives.