BOFA International supports local search and rescue charity during COVID-19

BOFA is delighted to have donated face masks to Dorset Search & Rescue (DorSAR) during COVID-19.

DorSAR is a team of highly trained volunteers who work with the police, coastguard and other emergency services in the search, rescue and recovery of missing persons all over Dorset.

DorSAR is entirely funded by charitable donations and is staffed by a dedicated team of unpaid yet still highly trained volunteers. From those who support them at fundraising events to those who leave their beds at 4:00am to search for vulnerable missing people in Dorset – nobody in the team gets paid for their time.

The current environment of COVID-19 restrictions is both increasing the pressure on vulnerable people in our community and is also requiring the DorSAR teams to operate in emergency situations where social distancing may not always be possible. As such, their need for PPE has become even more critical recently.

DorSAR relies on grants, donations and the generosity of others in order to operate, so BOFA International has been very pleased to donate a batch of protective face masks to the DorSAR

team as a contribution to aiding their valuable work.

“DorSAR is one of those essential voluntary organisations that often slips under the radar of donations and fundraising” explained BOFA’s Business Development Manager, Geoff Sagar, who proposed them for one of the company’s generous PPE donations to local good causes. “Their profile had been helped massively this year with their adoption by AFC Bournemouth as a charity partner, which has been a real boost to their profile. They are an organisation that I’ve supported for some time and I was really pleased that BOFA had kindly agreed to donate some of the PPE from our COVID-19 community support campaign to their cause.”

DorSAR’s Chairman for 2019/20, Tom Bryant, was very grateful for the donation from BOFA – “we receive no government funding at all and need to provide all of our own safety equipment from donations or fundraising, so to be recognised by a local business in this way is very much appreciated.”

In 2019, it cost £31, 852 to cover DorSAR’s operational costs and the team spent 3188 hours on live callouts and searches for vulnerable people missing in the county.