#It's What We Do

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Our Volunteers

Eammon Quinn - Controller and Fundraiser

What inspired me
Having worked all of my life since the age of 14 and supporting my wife and 4 children, I was struck down with Guillain Barre Syndrome in 2023. I had to learn to walk again, relapsed and then ended up in intensive care. After being told I will no longer get the feeling back in my legs and hands and left unable to work, I decided I wanted to channel the energy I had left in to doing something positive by volunteering and giving back to the NHS who saved my life.
I joined Nottinghamshire Blood Bikes in September 2024 after responding to an advert put out by a friend who already volunteered for NBB. I am not well enough to do the pick ups and drops off, however I volunteer as a Controller on the telephone, liaising with NHS Trusts and NBB Riders/Drivers to coordinate the pick up and drops offs of samples and blood.I was formerly a taxi driver for over 10 years, so really miss the social element of that role and enjoy getting to speak to people whilst volunteering for NBB. I get to book in jobs on to our system, work out routes for the NBB Riders/Drivers, ensuring a speedy pick up, checking who is closest using our vehicle tracker and monitoring the weather through the winter to check if it’s safest for our Blood Bike cars or bikes to do the jobs. Our volunteering hours are 6pm to 6am weekdays, 6pm Fridays through to 6am Mondays, including bank holidays and Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
One of the most memorable jobs for me was an urgent time sensitive blood sample that had to be delivered to the Birmingham Children’s Hospital, this was a race against time and with careful planning, this was achieved ahead of schedule.
I have put a lot of time and energy into fundraising on behalf of Nottinghamshire Blood Bikes and really enjoy this aspect of the volunteering, knowing every penny raised goes to the charity. This can make a huge difference to insuring vehicles, procuring new ones and funding fuel for our runs.
If you have 16 hours to spare each month and want to make a difference whilst working with an incredible team of people, then Nottinghamshire Blood Bikes is the Charity for you! We completely rely on fundraising and donations to be able to assist the NHS and every single person does their bit to keep this Charity operating.

Richard Millichip - Driver

What inspired me

I was inspired to join NBB as i really value the principles of the charity, giving something back to help out our amazing NHS.
I first looked into joining NBB a few years ago , but realised with work commitments etc, I couldn’t give it the time it deserved and needed. Now I have that time and so it was easy to make that commitment.
I was inspired to apply again by accident, when I was working as a driving instructor, by chance I picked up a pupil from what I now know to be the house of NBB chairman. Their was a Blood bike and car on his drive, so I got talking and after I retired I reapplied.

Although it’s NBB’s I don’t ride, but my love of driving has allowed me to be a driver for the Charity, I also now take new members on site tours, and mentor drives, showing them what’s involved and hopefully how to do it. One of my favourite things about NBB is interacting with other members at fundraising events, and ofcourse also with members of public at these fundraisers as well.
I think when a member of the public comes up to you at an event and says thank you for what you do, that’s all you need to here to know you make a difference, and why you want to continue to do it. Out side of Blood Bikes I like to go on walks and see my 18 month old grandson, they just grow up to fast!
To anyone thinking about joining, I would say, if you have the time talk to us, there are different roles so not being able to drive doesn’t have to hold you back theirs a role for you.
Alex Pykkett

Alex Pykett - Driver

What inspired me
A feeling of wanting to give back to a service that has helped my family so much, having a child, Francesca, diagnosed with an extremely rare condition called Acrodysostosis meant for the past 7 years we have spent an incredible amount of time in the care of our wonderful NHS from local hospitals to Sheffield, Birmingham and great Ormond Street, made me want to give a little back. Then, through a connection at work, a colleague who lives down south told me that he volunteered for a blood bikes group, and it got me looking locally, to which I came across Nottinghamshire Blood Bikes.

My role at NBB started like many others, signing up to do the role that works for them, for me this was a driver, being office based in my job it gave me the freedom to get out on the road and drive which is one thing I certainly love to do! If it’s got wheels, I want to try it! Outside of Blood Bikes I am a father to two wonderful children, Archie 12 and Francesca 9 and fiancé (for now) to their mum Kim. (blood bike convoy for the upcoming wedding?)

When I say I’m on shift what I truly mean is “we” are on shift who else is going to wake me up at 2am to the phone ringing on those night shifts, it’s a team effort!
Being a petrol head and loving anything with wheels flows nicely into work where day to day I am a transport supervisor for a local firm in the construction industry planning upwards of 30+ vehicles daily for nationwide delivery, which certainly helps when it comes to getting urgent blood jobs done quickly and efficiently with route planning!

Every job is special for one reason or another but the job that gives me the greatest sense of satisfaction is the heel prick sample run we do four times a week. We collect from Queens Medical Centre and City Hospital Neonatal units, then transport these to Sheffield Children’s Hospital so they can be tested, a job that is very much needed and one I can relate to heavily. Having Francesca, our daughter, who has visited many specialist children’s hospitals and undergone multiple procedures, there’s a high chance that her samples were transported by a blood bike charity, but we will never know! Like many, you never know that a blood bike volunteer has been involved in the care you have received.

One of the most rewarding events to be involved is has to be the naming of 2 blood bikes, one for Grace O’Malley-Kumar and one for Ian Coates who were sadly murdered in the Nottingham attacks, seeing the community and the families come together so their legacy’s can live on.
Another is when Francesca was invited to turn on Queens Medical Centres Christmas lights and Nottinghamshire Blood Bikes offered there support to bring along some vehicles to support not only my family, but all families by inviting the children down from the ward to sit on the bikes and enjoy some festive fun during some difficult times. The whole team went above and beyond to make it happen, and there were plenty of smiles.

Do it! You’ll not regret it, we really are one big family! When you put that vest on you feel a sense of pride!
Lesley Henson

Lesley Henson - Controller

What inspired me
My son Alex, joined a few months before me and I was so impressed by his commitment to NBB despite having a FT job and a daughter with special needs, it made me think about stepping forward to be a controller which at the time were in short supply at the time and I could do this from home after my day job at the NHS.
I am one of the controllers who receive calls requesting samples to be collected from various out of hours services and delivered to the hospitals, this includes Heel prick tests for newborns to be taken to Sheffield Children’s Hospital and blood to Barnsley. I then allocate these to our riders or drivers in a timely manner to request they go out and collect these samples and deliver them. Outside bloods, I love spending time with my family, grandchildren and long walks with my husband and dogs. I also have a passion for cooking and can often be found baking while covering a controller duty. I currently work for NUH as a manager overseeing the private practise within the Trust.

I had the honour recently of attending one of our fundraising days and got chatting to a member of the public who was amazed at how much we do, and ended up giving their details to join us once they retired in the summer. I also shared my adventure on social media and the wonderful Eammon joined us through my post.

This is by far the easiest question to answer! I have met some incredible people from all walks of life that have the same passion to give back to our NHS, Every shift is a laugh with these guys.

Sit back, hold tight and enjoy the most amazing bunch of people you could ever want to be around! You start just thinking a few hours a week and end up on nights out, banter and a caring compassionate group who soon become friends.

Adam W

Adam Werle - Driver and Fundraiser

What inspired me
I joined because I know while I’m driving I am transporting something that could potentially saves someone’s life. It is the most rewarding thing that I have ever done since joining.I found out about blood bikes when I went to the emergency services day at Wollaton Park. At the time I couldn’t drive the blood bikes as I wasn’t 25 so became a fundraiser first then once I became 25, I became a driver.
I’m a driver/fundraiser for Nottinghamshire Blood Bikes, while I’m not driving for the blood bikes I work at East Midlands airport for Jet2. I volunteer when I get a couple of days off from work to give my time to help out the people of Nottinghamshire.
If I’m having a break somewhere, people come up to me saying you’re doing a fantastic job, I get kids wanting to sit in the car and have their photo took. It’s just great to interact with the public while you’re working as well.
If you have 16 hours to spare I would highly recommend joining blood bikes. It is amazing charity to volunteer for and while I’ve been doing this I’ve met new friends along the way.
Gareth

Gareth - Volunteer Driver

What inspired me
I first heard about blood bikes when I visited the stand at the Emergency Services show at Wollaton Park. I had been wanting to do something outside of work that focused on helping others, and this ticked all the boxes. The real selling point though was that everyone on the stand was super friendly, and I felt that I would fit in well.
I am a Senior Project Manager by day in a complex, political environment. By night, I am a blood car driver. Being able to focus on helping others, sometimes in times of great need, puts my own personal and professional stresses in perspective and keeps me grounded. My favourite part is that I never really know how the shift will pan out. Sometimes I get familiar jobs and locations, but even then an urgent or unexpected job can come in and make you think on your feet about where to go and what to do next.
Since joining about a year ago, several jobs and interactions stick in my mind. The most memorable though was when I was stopped by a nurse at one of the hospitals we deal with to say thank you for all that we do. She and her colleagues are touched that so many of us give up our free time, for free, to help the NHS and its patients. That really meant a lot.
If you are considering joining us, then give it a go. You’ll get to know some fantastic people, and the satisfaction of helping others is unbeatable.
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