St John Ambulance

First-class aid

If you’ve been at a community or sporting event, chances are St John Ambulance was there too. For 140 years, St John Ambulance volunteers have provided compassionate care and essential first aid to anyone who needs it. Events are an important part of their work but they often need several vehicles for one event – one to carry volunteers, another for kit, and another to provide a treatment area. This limits the number of events they can attend.

We’ve supported St John Ambulance since 2020 and are delighted to award them a grant of £240,240 to set up 4 fully equipped, self-contained first aid vehicles, known as Community Support Units. These bespoke units carry up to 6 people and kitbags for different situations, so they can respond to any injury or emergency. They also include a pop-up tent which can be set up as a treatment base, allowing St John Ambulance to provide life-saving support at more events.

St John Ambulance has 20,000 first aid trained volunteers.
In 2019, St John Ambulance treated around 10,000 people at over 3,000 London-based events.
St John volunteers gave over a million hours to support communities during the Covid-19 pandemic.

First aid for London

In 2019, St John Ambulance volunteers supported more than 19,500 events, treating and caring for almost 60,000 people. Despite their work being affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, demand for their support at events is surging. The 4 Community Support Units we’re funding will allow St John Ambulance to be a life-saving presence at many more events.

St John Ambulance has 4 strategically placed hubs across the capital: in Marylebone, Crystal Palace, Walthamstow and Park Royal. Each hub will get a new Community Support Unit so St John Ambulance can better support community events and respond to emergencies in the city. The units will also make it easier for St John Ambulance volunteers to provide the compassionate care for which they are so well-known.