A 19 year old childcare worker from Mallow is the proud owner of a Mercedes-Benz B-Class car this week, thanks to the support she gives to Bumbleance, the world’s first interactive ambulance service for sick children. Clare Linehan from Canon Sheehan Place signed up to Bumbleance when she attended the National Ploughing Championships, never thinking it would lead to her becoming the lucky owner of a new Mercedes-Benz car. A past pupil of St. Mary’s Secondary School, Clare travelled to Dublin with her mother Patsy, father Patrick and brother Jerry, where she was presented with the keys of her new car by Mercedes-Benz chief executive Stephen Byrne at an informal event in their headquarters on Naas Road. Asked to describe her feelings, a delighted Clare said: “I could hardly talk when its founder Tony Heffernan called to tell me I was the owner of a brand new Mercedes. Seeing what a worthy cause the Bumbleance service is, I could not resist giving them my support.”
The brainchild of Kerry couple Tony and Mary Heffernan, Bumbleance is an ambulance service specially designed to transport long-term sick children to and from care and treatment centres in a comfortable, child-friendly, stress-relieving manner. Thanking young people for the support they give to Bumbleance, Tony said, “It’s great to see someone like Clare driving away in a brand new car. Her support for the work we do has led to something she will fondly remember.”
The B-Class car’s highly visible design was created to alert traffic to the fact that an ambulance is approaching with a very important young person on board. Illustrated outside and inside in cartoon-like ‘bumble bee’ imagery, ambulances are designed to bring a smile to young people’s faces and keep their minds off its serious purpose. Inside, each unit is equipped with what Tony Heffernan calls “latest gizmos and interactive entertainment features that young passengers can enjoy such as internet and social media browsing or playing music, movies and games of all kinds”.