Fawley (6 November 2007) -- A group of air cadets will soon be travelling to adventure training in Snowdonia, The Lake District and Dartmoor without worrying about breaking down on the way.

The 2495 Squadron Air Training Corps at Hythe has received a grant of £1,000 from Esso and ExxonMobil Chemical at Fawley towards the cost of a new minibus. The squadron is aiming to raise a total of £25,000 to buy a replacement vehicle.

The money was given in recognition of the time and effort one employee has put into volunteering with the organisation. It has been donated under a special scheme designed to recognise the efforts of ExxonMobil employees and their families who contribute their time, talent and energy to schools, charities and non-profit making organisations. The scheme not only helps local organisations, but also improves the links between ExxonMobil and the local community.

The grant applicant is Mike Buckley who is an engineering manager at the refinery in Fawley, and the chairman of the squadron’s civilian committee, responsible for fundraising. He became involved with the Air Training Corps over 10 years ago through his son Mark, who went on to become an officer in the RAF and has just returned from a tour of duty in Iraq. His daughter Melissa also spent time as an air cadet at Hythe and his wife Marion has become a commissioned officer with the air cadets and is now the squadron adjutant.

Mike said: “I am absolutely delighted that ExxonMobil has helped us in this way. But we still have a lot of fund raising to do if we want to meet our target. I would like to take this opportunity to appeal to as many local organisations as possible to help. The cadets themselves have been putting a great deal of effort into fundraising events and it would be good to get further support from the local community.

“The Squadron is all about offering young people some amazing opportunities and using the experience to create responsible young adults. We are a very active youth organisation and would find it impossible to continue to keep the interest of young people in the Waterside area without transport.”

This latest donation brings the total raised to £8,000. The Squadron's current minibus, which has become less reliable and expensive to maintain, is used most weekends to transport them to activities around the UK and to experience flying and gliding at military sites such as Boscombe Down, Upavon and Abingdon.

The 2495 (Hythe) Squadron is open to both girls and boys between the ages of 13 and 20 years. For more information about the group or to make a donation contact Mike Buckley on 023 80 846574.

The ExxonMobil Volunteer Involvement Programme at Fawley, together with its sister scheme for school governors, has so far contributed more than £300,000 to local community projects since it was started four years ago.