Fundraisers coming to a street near you!

St John Ambulance have launched a door-to-door fundraising campaign in Berkshire. Over the next few weeks representives wearing clothing bearing the distinctive St John logo and carrying identification badges will be calling house-to-house.  

Wesser Scheme

The fundraisers have been trained by specialist agency Wesser and will not be collecting cash or cheques. Instead they will be seeking direct debits and asking people to consider becoming long-term supporters of St John Ambulance by making a voluntary donation of an amount of their choice, for as long as, or as regularly as they like.

Anyone wishing to become a donor will be required to complete a simple form which can be done on the doorstep. Information on the work and services of St John Ambulance will be available from the fundraisers, who will be able to answer questions on anything from volunteering to first aid training.

St John Ambulance County Executive Officer, Bruce Neeves says: 'This is a local campaign and all monies raised will go direct to Berkshire St John Ambulance. Wesser fundraisers have just completed a similar exercise in Surrey where, to date, they have raised approximately £730,000. We see support of local residents as being vital to the continuation of our valuable work in the community.

Kim Adrian, County Fundraiser added: 'We depend heavily on private and corporate donations, as we receive no Government funding in carrying out our first aid duties. By working with Wesser we are able to tell people about our charitable work, as well as raising funds, leaving our volunteers to focus on our vision that everyone who needs first aid should receive it from those around them.'

'We are keen to ensure that Berkshire residents are fully informed of this campaign as the fundraisers will begin pounding the streets from 5 June,' continues Kim. 'In this day and age, we understand that many people are wary of strangers knocking on their doors, but we would like to reassure everyone that our representatives have all been vetted and approved and will have no problem in being asked for identification, a practice we encourage the public to adopt.'

St John Ambulance, Berkshire boasts around 500 volunteer members all of whom need to be provided with uniform, medical equipment and ongoing training. The first aiders are regular faces at your local fetes and fun days and at major events which include Ascot Races, Cancer Research's Race for Life and the Madejski Stadium activities where they are always on hand to deal with the smallest graze or a life threatening emergency.