St John launches text to donate campaign – Text DONATE to 85010

St John Ambulance Berkshire has launched a text to donate campaign to fulfil a need for a quick and easy way for people to donate to the charity without having to hand over cash.

Thank you

Volunteer first aiders have reported that people who have received treatment from them often want to say thank you by making a donation however may not have money to hand over at the time. In the past this has meant that potential donors either have to send a cheque at a later date or return to the first aid post with cash which is not always feasible when an event may be in a field with no cash machines. As a result some donations are never made at all.

The new text to donate campaign means that these people can now be given a card after they have been treated, displaying a number to which they simply text the word ‘DONATE’ to automatically give £3 to St John Ambulance. The card carries the slogan 'We’re here to look after you, text DONATE to 85010 to help us continue.'

County Fundraiser for St John Berkshire, Kim Adrian says: ‘Some of the people that we help assume that we are funded by the NHS or the government when in fact we are a charity and rely on the support of local people and businesses to help us continue our work in their communities.

'Although St John Ambulance has a lot of history we also try to move with the times so text donations are a good example of us using modern technology to our advantage. Anyone can donate whether they have received first aid treatment or not, so we would love as many people as possible to get texting.’

Anyone wishing to donate to St John via text can simply text ‘DONATE’ to 85010 and £3 will be given to the charity. Standard network rates for sending the message will apply. Donors will then receive a thank you message and link asking them if they would like Gift Aid to apply to their donation.

If you are a UK taxpayer, by following the link and completing a simple form you can increase your donation by nearly a third at no extra cost to you. This means that for each £3 donation made through the text system, St John can claim an extra 85p from the government.

St John Ambulance has over 400 volunteers in Berkshire who attend hundreds of events each year allowing Berkshire people to stay safe whilst having fun. They each require protective clothing, training and equipment all of which costs money so each £3 donation made via text is vital.

For more information on raising funds for St John Ambulance call 0118 933 5500.