Staff at NatWest’s Brecon branch have raised more than £500 for Wales Air Ambulance with a cake sale during the town’s jazz festival last month.

The fundraising effort marked the branch’s support for the lifesaving charity, which NatWest staff nominated as their Charity of the Year.

Branch Manager Alison Phillips rallied her team to put on “a big spread” to mark the event and encourage visitors to pop in for refreshments whilst raising funds.

“Every year, people travel from all over to be in town for the Brecon Jazz Festival and we wanted to make sure we did something special to mark the occasion,” she said.

“We decided to do a cake sale, which turned into a cake festival. It was hard to choose which one to eat.”

The cake sale proved a huge success.

“There was a real buzz on the Friday. Our entire branch didn’t look like a bank - it literally looked like the tent at the Royal Welsh Show,” said Alison.

“Even if someone could not eat because they were gluten-free or diabetic, they would walk in to donate.”

Thanks to the efforts of the branch team and support from Wales Air Ambulance’s Regional Fundraising Manager Kate Thomas and volunteers Tina and Anne, the event raised £518. Alison praised the volunteers’ help: “Tina went out onto the street and was herding people in, they really responded, and we sold out within a few hours.”

Wales Air Ambulance delivers consultant-led emergency care across Wales, providing hospital-standard treatment at the scene, including anaesthesia, blood transfusions, and minor operations. It relies on public donations to raise the £11.2 million required every year to keep the helicopters in the air and rapid response vehicles on the road.

Alison said she often sees the air ambulance helicopters overhead where she lives.

“It is amazing that Wales Air Ambulance has this incredible ability to take the emergency room to those who are critically ill or injured,” she said,

“My house looks on to Pen y Fan and the farm where I was born is the same, and we see the helicopter out more often that we would wish to.”

The NatWest team is already planning further fundraising events for the charity, including a physical challenge, a tombola, and raffles.

Alison said: “The aim is to get an exercise bike in store and set a big distance for us to cover in a certain amount of time. We are yet to decide our target, but we are so ready for this.

“This is giving everyone a good feeling. We cannot wait to see how much we can raise.”

The team also has an honesty bookstore at its Brecon branch, where customers can pop in and pick up something to read and put a donation in the box.

Kate Thomas, Regional Fundraising Manager for Powys said: “It was an honour to be part of the proceedings and join in with the celebrations.

“Events like this really do make a difference and help save lives.”