Tesco Shoppers dig deep for first aid charity

Generous Tesco shoppers helped raise nearly £6,000 for St John Ambulance Berkshire recently when volunteer members of the charity collected donations outside stores in Bracknell, Newbury, Wokingham, Reading, Windsor and Slough.

Surprise visitor

Volunteers collecting at the Warfield store in Bracknell also received a surprise visitor on the second day, when former Blue Peter presenter Konnie Huq arrived at the supermarket to film footage for her latest TV project.

Konnie was happy to pose for photos with the volunteers and chatted to the younger members of the group about the weekend’s fundraising and their roles in St John Ambulance.

County fundraiser for St John Berkshire, Kim Adrian said: ‘We are very grateful to Tesco for allowing us to collect on their premises for the weekend and would like to say a big thank you to everyone who made a donation. As we receive no government funding or money from the NHS every penny given to us is important.’

She continued, ‘These collection weekends are not just about raising money, but they also provide our members with an opportunity to engage with people in the local community and talk to them about the work that we do such as first aid training and our youth movement.’

Many people who made donations did so as they were taught first aid skills by St John Ambulance or know of someone who has been given first aid treatment by one of their members.

The money raised will be split between the adult and youth sections of the charity to help with training, the provision of uniform and first aid equipment.