Savers save lives as Society launches Supporter Bonds

Savers can save lives as Yorkshire Building Society joins forces with Yorkshire Air Ambulance (YAA) to launch two new Supporter Bonds, raising money for one of the UK's busiest air ambulance services.

The Society is launching two savings bonds:

YAA Rollover Bond - one-year fixed rate Rollover Bond paying 2.00% gross/AER

YAA Variable Rate Bond - one-year variable rate bond paying 1.75% gross/AER
(BoE base rate + 1.25%)

Both accounts will be available at branches of Yorkshire Building Society and Barnsley Building Society from Monday 5th September.

Savers can invest in the bonds in the knowledge that their savings will save lives, as the equivalent of 1% of the average monthly balances in both accounts will be donated to the Yorkshire Air Ambulance by the Society.

The Yorkshire has an existing relationship with Yorkshire Air Ambulance through Barnsley Building Society, donating over £400,000 to the charity in the four years since Barnsley's affinity account with the charity was launched.  The payments from both this account and the new Supporter Bonds will make one considerable annual donation to the charity.

Paul Gowland, Director of Fundraising at the Yorkshire Air Ambulance said: "It is key that we are able to offer imaginative and exciting ways to create sustainable income streams for the charity, this enables us to continue our vital life saving work and plan for the future. We are thrilled that the Society is launching two more affinity accounts in support of the YAA and that it will maintain donations at 1% of average monthly balances - not just county wide but country wide!"

Lynne Pepper, Product Manager for Savings at the Yorkshire said: "We are delighted to extend our relationship with Yorkshire Air Ambulance by offering two new Supporter Bonds through our Yorkshire and Barnsley Building Society branches.  The charity provides an invaluable service to the people of Yorkshire and it costs £7,200 a day to keep its two helicopters in the air, the equivalent of £2.6m a year.  The Supporter Bonds will give our customers the option of raising further funds for the service while still receiving a great rate of interest."

Yorkshire Air Ambulance is one of the UK's busiest air ambulance services, flying seven days a week, 365 days a year.  Yorkshire is home to some of the UK's busiest motorway networks, covering over 451 miles, and the YAA attends more road traffic collisions than any other service of its kind as a result.  The charity has two state of the art helicopters that can fly at speeds up to 160mph covering approximately two miles a minute.  The helicopters and crew are the stars of BBC documentary, Helicopter Heroes, which airs internationally.

For more details on the Supporter Bonds, visit ybs.co.uk/yorkshire-air-ambulance