A fundraising campaign to recruit new supporters for St John Ambulance has secured donations from over 200 people on the Isle of Wight.
A team of door-to-door fundraisers spent two weeks in September talking to people in and around Ryde, Seaview, Bembridge and Brading and asking them to support the leading first aid charity by making a regular donation to the organisation.
County Executive Officer for St John Ambulance on the island, Sarah Goss said ‘We are delighted that people on the Isle of Wight are committed to helping us ensure that no one suffers for a lack of trained first aiders and we would like to say a big thank you to everyone who has registered as a supporter. First aid can be the difference between a life lost and a life saved and thanks to their generous support we can continue our work locally and empower others to be the difference.’
Some of the funds generated by the campaign will be used to support the charity’s three Community First Responder (CFR) schemes which operate in conjunction with the NHS in East Cowes, Brighstone and Bembridge.
First Responders are volunteers who are on standby to attend first aid emergencies in the immediate area surrounding their own homes to provide vital first aid in the period before an ambulance or paramedic car arrives. The service is most important in rural areas where NHS response times may be longer. Typically, Community First Responders will go out to casualties who have stopped breathing due to a cardiac arrest and will take with them an automated external defibrillator which can shock the heart back into a steady rhythm. When given within minutes of a cardiac arrest occurring, this treatment significantly increases the casualty’s chances of survival. In the first six months of this year, the team on the Isle of Wight responded to 89 calls highlighting the value of the service they provide.
Sarah continues; ‘It is our ambition to set up more Community First Responder groups on the island particularly in the west. The funds generated from this campaign will go some way to helping us achieve this meaning that we can save even more lives. Even though our door to door campaign has come to an end in this area, it doesn’t mean people can’t still give to us so anyone who would like to make a one off donation or become a regular donor should get in touch.’
As well as recruiting supporters, the team of fundraisers issued residents with a free first aid guide providing advice on how to deal with common life threatening conditions so that if someone chokes, has a heart attack, stops breathing or cuts themselves, some useful information will be close at hand. If you’ve not been visited by one of the fundraising team but would like a copy of the free first aid guide then visit www.sja.org.uk or text the word “LIFE” to 85010. To support St John Ambulance’s fundraising or to become a volunteer call 08700 10 49 50.
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