Helicopter Rescue Team needs your help!

I am writing this to ask for your help in saving a northwest backcountry rescue resource.

I am a rescue technician and EMT with the Snohomish County Helicopter Rescue Team. We fly around 80 missions per year in the Pacific Northwest and are in many instances the last resort for people in need. We are a team of 30, 27 volunteers and 3 deputies, that don't hesitate to respond to emergencies. As long as we are patrolling the backcountry there is hope for a swift rescue and transportation to definite medical care. We do not charge for rescues !

Federal funding for helicopter fuel and maintenance was recently eliminated and is threatening to ground us for good. Snohomish County found emergency money to keep the Team aloft through 2014, but after that there is high probability of no money. We seek to cover expenses of $150,000 per year. It is now up to our community to save the Team and SnoHawk 10 (a UH-1H Huey) which have both stood ready 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for the past 40 years. We have been and will be there for our community, now we ask our community be there for us.

We are having a fundraising drive including a casual, social evening with dinner, raffle and auction coming up on April 19 next year. The Mountaineers is graciously hosting us in their main clubhouse in Seattle and we will put on a great evening for all our friends and supporters in the community. See the enclosed Save the Date flier. We are pursuing all avenues for sustained funding for the Helicopter Rescue Team. In the meantime we hope for a strong support from our community.

Check us out on Facebook and feel free to hit donate or buy a cool product on our web site www.supportthelastresort.com .

Most of our crew are avid backcountry folks - ask them about HRT if you cross paths; Marcus (yes THE TAY Marcus), Andy, Miles, Dave, Jason, Richard are all lurkers or posters on TAY.

It's a noble cause, but why don't you charge DOC for the helicopter for rescue operations (projecting average hourly costs for insurance/replacement of parts that don't have component life)? I'm assuming that's your biggest operating expense due to all of the volunteer effort. A few thousand dollars is dirt cheap to save a life.

i'll go to the party.
b

This is worth saving, I wonder if we could create a local rescue insurance plan that would fund the HRT, like the private programs in Switzerland?

Charging for rescue - now there is a can of worms discussion.  both sides with so many valid arguments.  My own opinion, not representing anyone else, is that i want to live in a society that has the ability to care for its members, to help the ones in their time of need.  I don't believe in charging for rescue. 

Is the go pro on ???

My point is that helicopters are very expensive pieces of equipment to operate - and they have to be paid for somehow. We could say that it would be great to offer free education, free roads, free police departments, and free Tibet, but in reality it all has to be paid for in one way or another (taxes, fees, fines, etc.).
I think charging 2-5 thousand (or, charge a fraction of DOC to subsidize the operation) for saving someone's life is reasonable, and if it helps you stay in operation and save more lives I would say it is a morally sound option. In addition to a charge per rescue, an insurance policy would be a fantastic way to attract more donations to support operations - as people are going to feel like they're purchasing a service instead of being a one sided transaction.