Lottery windfall will mean more lives saved

Essex St John Ambulance is celebrating the announcement that its bid for Lottery funding for a state-of-the-art first aid training centre in Halstead has been successful.

Ambitious community first aid training project

The charity will receive £96,113 from the Big Lottery Fund which will go towards an ambitious project to train 4100 local people in life saving skills over a three year period.

The total cost of the project is £271,000, with the balance coming from the charity's reserves, trust applications, fundraising events and donations.

First aid capability extended

Essex St John Ambulance's delighted Chairman Janie Siggers, who has spent more than 1,000 hours fundraising for the project over the last eight months, said:

'This is fantastic news. The launch of St John Ambulance's new difference brand and Life Lost campaign has been a huge boost to us both in terms of donations and increased awareness of the vital importance of learning first aid.'

St John Ambulance Essex will now be able to extend its first aid training to hard to reach schools and communities in the north of the county.

'Our ultimate aim is to ensure that everyone can be the difference and that no one dies unnecessarily because they needed first aid and didn’t get it,' said Siggers.

The charity is working closely with diversity groups and Essex County Council and will be offering one-to-one home training sessions to those unable to access services via the normal routes.

Building work has just started on the new HQ alongside the existing St John Ambulance garages in Fenn Road. The new centre is expected to be fully operational by the autumn.

State-of-the-art facilities

Facilities will include two training rooms, state-of-the-art equipment for teaching and ample parking. Unlike the current rented building, the new HQ will be accessible to disabled people.

It will be used to provide free first aid training to 3,000 local residents over three years and another 1,100 children.

Running costs will be covered by charging other community groups to use the venue and the free training will be provided by some of the 1500 St John Ambulance Essex members who gave 220,000 hours of voluntary service last year.

The building will serve the areas of Halstead, Braintree, Little and Great Maplestead, Yeldham, Gosfield, Castle Hedingham, Sible Hedingham and Belchamps, with a total population of 142,000.

The Big Lottery Fund bid received widespread support from community groups and organisations across the county, including the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust, Essex County Council, Braintree Council, parish councils, disability groups and local MPs.

Sara Betsworth, Big Lottery Fund's Head of the East of England region, said:

'I'm delighted that Essex St John Ambulance has received this award. Reaching out to groups who often feel excluded and isolated can bring about real change in local community integration. The first aid training will both boost people's confidence and help extend skills that can really make a difference in a life or death situation.'