Every day, almost 2 million people work and volunteer across the NHS and emergency services. They work tirelessly to keep our communities safe and healthy, often facing extraordinary challenges with courage and compassion. Charities supporting those who play a crucial role by providing essential assistance, resources, and care for staff, volunteers, and their families, ensuring that those who protect us receive the support they deserve.
By championing these charities, we stand together in gratitude, helping to fund mental health initiatives, welfare programmes, and practical aid in times of need. Your support makes a real difference—join us in recognising and uplifting the remarkable people behind the uniform.
This list is not exhaustive and will be expanded in due course.
Police:
Oscar Kilo: When the people behind policing are supported, the whole service is stronger and better able to protect the public. We help policing organisations build healthy working environments and meet their legal and moral duty of care around wellbeing. We want to help individuals to stay well, feel valued and thrive at work, and at home.
Police Care UK: Police Care UK is a charity for serving and veteran police officers and staff, volunteers, and their families who have suffered any physical or psychological harm as a result of policing.
The Ben Fund: The Ben Fund cares for and supports officers, both serving and retired, who are experiencing mental, physical or hardship difficulties. None of us know when we may find ourselves in need – a family crisis, a sudden bereavement, an unexpected illness, or a work-related difficulty.
UK Care of Police Survivors: Care Of Police Survivors (COPS) is the UK charity supporting families of police officers who have lost their lives on duty.
Fire and Rescue Service:
Fire Fighters Charity: The Fire Fighters Charity offers a wide range of support services for firefighters, control staff, and their families. They provide physical and psychological health and wellbeing services, as well as recuperation and rehabilitation support.
Ambulance Service:
Air Ambulances UK: Did you know that Air Ambulances rely on charitable donations to keep flying to save lives. With each mission costing around £3,000. This life-saving critical resource relies on donations in order to save lives and fly critically injured people to hospital. Find out more about your local air ambulance & donate:
The Ambulance Staff Charity: TASC provides a range of services to support the mental health, physical rehabilitation, and financial wellbeing of the UK’s ambulance staff, paramedic students, and ambulance service volunteers.
St John Ambulance: As the nation’s leading first aid charity, St John Ambulance trains hundreds of thousands of people in life-saving skills. Their volunteers also provide medical support at public events and work alongside the NHS in response to 999 calls.
NHS:
NHS Charities Together: This is a national federation of over 230 NHS charities across the UK. It acts as a collective voice and co-ordinates national fundraising appeals. The funds raised are used to support NHS staff, patients, and communities with things like staff wellbeing programmes, specialist equipment, and community health partnerships.
Search and Rescue:
Community Rescue (Northern Ireland): The Community Rescue Service are a Charitable Search & Rescue Organisation operated by volunteers from communities across Northern Ireland.
Lowland Rescue: Lowland Rescue is a UK-wide network of unpaid, volunteer teams operating under the Association of Lowland Search and Rescue (ALSAR) to find vulnerable missing people in non-mountainous areas. They provide support to the police and other emergency services by using specialised search techniques, including highly trained search dogs, and have capabilities in areas like first aid and swiftwater rescue. To donate, click the link to find your local Lowland Rescue Team.
Mountain Rescue England and Wales: Mountain rescue team members are on call, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to recover climbers from precipitous crags, reunite lost walkers with their pals and ensure injured and sick casualties are safely delivered into vital hospital care.
Scottish Mountain Rescue: Scottish Mountain Rescue represents 26 volunteer Mountain Rescue Teams (including two Search and Rescue Dog Associations (SARDA), Scottish Cave Rescue Organisation and the Search And Rescue Aerial Association – Scotland (SARAA – Scotland) with over 850 volunteers.
Scottish Association for Remote and Alpine Diving: This is a Scottish-based volunteer organisation focused on underwater search and rescue operations, including searches in remote and alpine environments. https://www.saraid.org/donate-new/
Royal National Lifeboat Institution: The RNLI is the charity that saves lives at sea. They provide a 24-hour lifeboat search and rescue service, as well as a seasonal lifeguard service. The charity is entirely funded by donations and legacies.
Independent Lifeboats National Independent Lifeboat Association (NILA) is a charity that was formed in 2022 to promote and support independent lifeboat organisations across the United Kingdom.
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