A teenage volunteer has raised thousands of pounds for the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) through a netball tournament, and hopes her efforts will inspire more young people to get involved in charity work.

At just 17, Lydia Waddington, from Darlington, is already making a difference in her community by volunteering at a local coffee house to support GNAAS.

Since it officially opened in August last year, Lydia has volunteered her time at Hangar 63, which is located at the headquarters of GNAAS, near Eaglescliffe.

Hangar 63 is open to the public every day 8.30am – 3pm, and has become a popular destination for supporters, local residents and visitors, with every purchase helping to fund GNAAS’ life-saving critical care service across the North East, North Yorkshire, Cumbria and the Isle of Man.

Speaking about her duties, Lydia said: “It is a very client facing role. I serve hot drinks and food, make sure all the tables are cleared, check everyone’s happy with their food, operate the till and handle money from our customers. I’ll also tell people about the charity, including promoting their events, like their classic car and bike nights.”

Lydia first began volunteering after finishing her GCSE’s and now that she is in college full time, she will offer to come in during her half-term and holiday breaks.

She said: “Volunteering is not a chore to me, it’s something I like to do, so I will fit it in during the holidays.

“We use the Volunteero app so I can see all the shifts that are available, and you just request a shift and then it gets approved. It’s a really simple process.

“While I may not be able to volunteer all the time, it still makes a difference and has a positive impact on the charity.”

In addition to attending sixth form college, volunteering at a local charity, and working part-time as a server, Lydia is also very passionate about netball and not only plays the sport at a social and performance level, but coaches children from four years old up to the age 13 at Darlington Headlanders Netball Club.

Last year she decided she wanted to organise a netball tournament, which led to her doing it as part of her Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) at college, and subsequently raising funds for GNAAS.

She said: “I thought it was a really good way to raise money and combine my two interests, so it just started from there. With my EPQ, I had to plan it out really rigorously, because it covers planning and organising it and then your execution.

“All the planning from the ground up was solely me and then I had two main sponsors who basically footed my costs.”

Lydia received support from MSG Dental Care and Hutchinson Wealth Management, as well as Parfetts, where her dad works as a HGV driver, which covered the costs of her tuck shop.

She said: “With your EPQ you have to have initial goals, so my initial goal was to raise £1,000, which at the time I thought was quite high. I set it at £80 per team to enter which was quite reasonable and I thought I’d get eight to 10 teams but I ended up having 14.”

Lydia hosted the netball tournament at the end of August at Redcar Leisure Centre and also ran a raffle at the event to raise further funds for charity.

She said: “There was easily over a hundred people there. It felt euphoric, I can’t really describe it in words, but it was absolutely amazing. The amount of people that were there to support something that I’d organised but also support something that I’m really involved in and really care about, it was great.”

The final total raised at the tournament was £2,282.15, which Lydia said was “amazing” as it was more than double her original goal.

In addition to raising funds for charity, one of her main objectives was to get more young people involved in charity work, and she’s planning on delivering talks to pupils in school.

She said: “The big benefit I get from volunteering is it gives me a sense of purpose. I could be sat at home on my phone, but instead I’m doing something meaningful and feel part of something that’s a lot bigger than myself.

“While I may not be a pilot going out and helping people, I know that working in the coffee house is raising money for them to keep going and doing that.

“The next generation needs to support the charity as well so it can continue its vital work long into the future. That’s one of the main reasons why I’m passionate about getting more young people involved.”

For those who are interested in supporting a charity but unsure of how to approach it, Lydia has the following advice: “I’d suggest going on the charity’s social media or looking them up on their website to see what they do and how you could get involved. You could literally be going to one of their fundraising events, standing on a stall or going around with a collection bucket, or like I do working at a coffee house.

“If you’re unsure, just go speak to people from the charity, or if you’re not confident speaking to them face to face, email someone, which was how I actually started.

“I put my application in and then I just sent an email introducing myself and expressing my interest in getting involved in the charity.

“Volunteering has given me lots of key skills that I’d need, like communication, teamwork, initiative and drive. It’s really boosted me and I’ve definitely gained a lot of confidence from it.”

To find out more about volunteering with GNAAS visit: https://www.greatnorthairambulance.co.uk/support-us/volunteer/