Birmingham mother's extraordinary fundraising efforts pays for 18 emergency response vehicles

A Birmingham mum has pulled off something truly remarkable — raising more than £400,000 over eight years to put 18 Community First Responder vehicles on the roads across the West Midlands.

Debbie Roscoe, from Harborne, founded her charity Arrive Alive after witnessing first-hand the brilliant care the NHS provided when her daughter Ellie fell seriously ill.

What began as a mission to fund just one emergency response vehicle has snowballed into an operation that is now making a real difference to communities stretching from Birmingham and Solihull to Coventry, Staffordshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire and the Black Country.

The West Midlands Ambulance Service described Ms Roscoe and her charity as having made "a truly remarkable contribution" to emergency care in the region.

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It all started when Ellie was 19 and ended up in isolation at Heartlands Hospital after contracting measles.

"Ellie was very ill in hospital, at Heartlands and we didn't know if she would be coming out of hospital at that stage," Ms Roscoe said. "She was in isolation in the infectious diseases unit and the staff were absolutely amazing there. I could not fault them."

The experience left Ms Roscoe determined to give something back to the health service in her own way.

Once Ellie recovered, her mum discovered the work of Community First Responders — volunteers dispatched to 999 calls by the ambulance service — and asked how she could help.

The answer? It started at the family dining table with just £5.82 and a whole lot of determination.

Since then, Arrive Alive has grown far beyond anyone's expectations. The charity has placed 44 defibrillators in local communities and distributed hundreds of bleed kits alongside its fleet of vehicles, the BBC reports.

Each vehicle costs roughly £25,000 to kit out. And the money has come through a mix of events, bucket collections, sponsorship deals and an annual ball held on Ellie's birthday — plus what Ms Roscoe cheerfully describes as "tormenting people".

The responders using those vehicles hit a major milestone recently, attending more than 8,000 life-threatening 999 emergencies between June 2024 and June 2026.

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"Those cars are first on scene sometimes, because they're in the communities - they can start using a defib before the ambulance gets there," Ms Roscoe said. "They're all volunteers, they're trained by the ambulance service, why wouldn't you want to do something for them?"

Ms Roscoe is not stopping there, either. The charity is currently seeking donations for its 19th vehicle, and she has set herself the ambitious target of funding a 20th by the end of 2026.

It is clear the impact hasn't gone unnoticed by the ambulance service itself.

WMAS community response manager Tim Cronin said: "To see Debbie's ambition grow from funding just one vehicle to supporting 18 is an extraordinary achievement."

"The impact of her dedication is being felt by patients and communities across the West Midlands. We are incredibly grateful to Debbie and everyone who supports Arrive Alive for their continued passion, generosity and commitment."

With more than 500 Community First Responders now operating across the region, Ms Roscoe's dining table dream has become something genuinely life-saving.

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