THE COUNTY-WIDE search and rescue team has received £1,000 from Tesco to support its work.
Berkshire Lowland Search and Rescue will use the money for communications equipment so its teams can continue improving their emergency response.
The donation was part of the supermarket’s community grant scheme, which supports charities and organisations across the country.
Berkshire Lowland Search and Rescue is the oldest lowland search and rescue team in the UK.
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It works in partnership with Thames Valley Police to locate and rescue high-risk vulnerable missing persons such as children and those living with dementia.
All members are volunteers, trained in search and rescue techniques.
Fundraising officer Andrew Viney received the funds from Hayley Inwood, store manager at the Finchampstead Road superstore in Wokingham.
He said: “We’re very grateful to Tesco for this grant. It means a lot to us because it will go towards vital communications equipment that will undoubtedly lead to the saving of lives in Berkshire.
“The Finchampstead Road Tesco store has always been so supportive of us, as has the community as a whole, and we really do appreciate this because we rely on donations to help us save lives – so every penny counts.”
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Louise Jedras, community champion at the store, praised the work of Berkshire Lowland Search and Rescue.
“We’re very pleased to support them,” she added. “They do an amazing job. Many people don’t realise they are a volunteer organisation and that donations are so important to them.
“They train their volunteers to the highest standard to ensure their own safety and that of the person they are looking for.
“It takes three months to train a volunteer to become operational, and I’m always amazed by the level of commitment their members give.”
Donations received each year provide foot searchers, search controllers and search managers, as well as all the equipment needed to manage a large-scale search, including a control vehicle, computerised mapping, radio communications, medical equipment and scene lighting.
