UWFRA is made up of over 80 well trained and well equipped volunteer cavers, climbers and mountaineers and is on call 365 days a year. Our membership live in the Dales or travel from as far away as Leeds or Bradford and are prepared to respond to a callout at any time of the day or night in the worst of weather conditions.

We demand the most up to date equipment and many items must be changed or removed from use by strict control and rotation. We receive no Government funding and our services remain free to those who need us. Our annual running costs are currently in excess of £34,000 per annum and we remain reliant on donations and fundraising events. Without your support and generosity our rescue team could not function.

UWFRA is a registered charity. Like other mountain and cave rescue teams in the UK it receives no funding from central Government. The team is run entirely by volunteers and has no paid members of staff.

The everyday funding of UWFRA is by donations from the public. This money comes from a variety of sources: collecting boxes throughout the area, kind donations from various groups, individuals or organisations, street collections; and fund raising events.

Where your money goes

The money raised is used to pay for insurance, maintenance and running of our two emergency vehicles, operating and up keep of our base, and the replacement of rescue and medical equipment (all of which has a finite life span or can/does suffer damage through wear and tear). Some examples of costs include: .

• Team vehicle – £35,000
• Full rescue harness – £70
  
• Rope (static / dynamic) – £80
  
• One set of rescue hardware (karabiners, pulleys, etc) – £250
  
• Comprehensive First Aid Kit (dressings, splints, oxygen) – £300
  
• Stretcher – £2,500

Source: Mountain Rescue England and Wales (2009)

Wish List

Our current fundraising efforts are being channelled to raise approximately £130,000 to allow for a planned building extension and £30,000 to replace our ageing Communications Van. We are currently in the process of updating our IT and mapping systems which is requiring funds of over £5,000.