Network Yacht Brokers Kent, Gillingham Marina, and MDL Chatham team up to support SERV Kent’s 24/7 emergency service, a community effort ensuring emergency care reaches those in need, day or night
Network Yacht Brokers Kent, one of the Group of Network Yacht Brokers based across the UK and Europe, has always raised funds for local charities by donating a proportion of the brokerage commission it receives on the sale of each vessel to local Kent-based Charities.
Since January 2025, Network Yacht Brokers Kent has been raising funds for SERV Kent, “Service by Emergency Response Volunteers”, also known as the Blood Runners. SERV Kent is a registered charity that has, since 1993 has been delivering blood, blood products, samples for testing, Donated Breast Milk, Home Dialysis samples, and other medical items to hospitals across the county of Kent 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, free of charge, whenever, wherever they are urgently needed.
Since 2013 SERV Kent volunteers, now including one of the Directors of NYB Kent, have been working with the Kent, Surrey & Sussex Air Ambulance Trust to supply them with regular stocks of blood which they carry onboard their aircraft, enabling specialist Doctors and Paramedics to provide instant emergency treatment at the scene of an incident. This was the first of its kind in the UK outside of London and ensures that the people of these three Counties receive the highest quality trauma care possible. Many lives have been saved since the service began.
SERV-Kent rely entirely on donations for their income. Its riders and drivers generally use their own vehicles and pay their own fuel as the charity only has a small fleet of bikes and cars owned by the charity. Since its service was started in 1993, it has taken 60,170 calls for help and this number continues to increase annually to currently just over 6300 calls per year.
As NYB Kent has sold boats this year, both Gillingham Marina and MDL Chatham have benefited from lifts and holds for surveys and new berth holders. Peter Norris, Managing Director of NYB Kent said, “it is really rewarding to see that, thanks to the management and staff of both Marinas, we have jointly been able to triple our donation to support this vital local charity that many people don’t realise are moving blood etc across the County 24 hours a day. It also shows the difference that three businesses linked by boats, working together, can make to the local community.”
Emma Powell, MDL Chatham Marina Manager, said “At MDL Marinas, we’re proud to support good causes across the country, and we’re especially pleased to be supporting SERV Kent with this donation. Our close working relationship with Network Yacht Brokers Kent has always been focused on helping people get the most out of boating—whether they’re moving up in size, down in size, or starting their journey on the water. It’s fantastic to now extend that partnership in a way that also gives back to the wider community, including our customers, by supporting such an essential, volunteer-led service for our local NHS hospitals.”
Chris Aldous, Gillingham Marina Manager, said, “ Gillingham Marina is pleased to be supporting Network Yacht Brokers Kent with this matched funding initiative. Some of the customers are volunteer drivers for this amazing charity that delivers a vital service to the Kent Community, Air Ambulance, and NHS in the background, with many of the general public not knowing the work they undertake. Gillingham Marina supports the idea of matched funding to help make a difference in our community.”
The details of these fantastic organisations can be found here:
