Simon’s younger brother, Luke and his uncle David McIlmoyle are both lecturers at the College.
David, who is an Electrical and Electronic Engineering lecturer at Magherafelt campus, welcomed the Students’ Union decision to back the charity and said it was a great boost for the family.
He explained how Simon sustained horrific injuries which included the loss of the sight in his right eye, broken ribs, sternum, left arm, pelvis and left leg, punctured lungs, ruptured spleen and bowel and general nerve damage.
“He is still recovering from his injuries, but we all realise how fortunate he is to be alive. Simon benefited from the fundraising and campaigning that other people did for the air ambulance service in the past and now as a family, we’re all pulling together to do our bit to help keep the service going.
David continued: After Simon’s accident, we as a family were having a very difficult time and Simon’s dad, Tony recalls chatting to the medical team. It was just before Simon was to go through another difficult operation and we were all very concerned about the outcome. During the discussion, one of the surgeons commented that Simon was a very strong individual with a massive passion for life and an amazing will to live. and that many people would not survive such injuries.
“The surgeon said to remember that many people would not survive such injuries and he believed that Simon had been saved for a reason. He said to go and find the reason and pay it back. The family got together and decided that the pay back would be to support the Air Ambulance.
“Many of our planned fundraising events were cancelled because of the pandemic so we had to think outside the box. We came up with the idea of a competition and thanks to the very generous support of the local community, we were able to buy a red 2016 Volkswagen Golf R, valued at £21,000.
“We’re running a competition with the car as the prize. To enter the competition, you just have to buy a ticket and answer a question. Tickets cost £15 so one lucky person will be able to drive away in a top of the range model Golf for just the price of a ticket.
David continued: “If we sell 5,950 tickets, we’ll raise almost £90,000. I know this seems like a lot of money but it’s just a drop in the ocean as it takes about £2m a year - or £5,500 a day - just to keep this vital service going.
Tickets can be bought online at www.cmcompetitionsni.co.uk and the winner of the competition will be announced live at 12 noon, next Saturday 24 April.