St John Ambulance is the nation's leading first aid charity. We believe that everyone who needs it should receive first aid from those around them and that no one should suffer for the lack of trained first aiders: we are determined to be the difference between lives lost and lives saved.
Each and every day our volunteers help to make a difference by using their own first aid skills or by teaching them to others. Most visibly they provide first aid cover at public events, helping people have fun at everything from football matches (including Wycombe Wonderers at one end of the County and the MK Dons at the other); rugby matches (including London Wasps and several local clubs); various sporting events, concerts, the County Show and village fetes. Each year in Buckinghamshire alone, our volunteers provide around 100,000 hours of voluntary service.
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St John Ambulance has one of the largest youth schemes in the county, with more than 500 young members (ranging from 5 to 18 years of age) benefiting from a wide range of exciting youth activities, which helps their development and provides a sound foundation for them in later life. In addition to learning first aid, we facilitate them gaining a number of St John Ambulance and other qualifications - including the Duke of Edinburgh Award - covering a variety of life skills.
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We are rapidly developing our Community Local Responder schemes in conjunction with our colleagues in the ambulance service. Schemes are now active in a number of the more rural locations throughout the County where they have already made the difference and helped to save lives.
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Maintaining the skill and professionalism of our volunteer members is essential not just for providing first aid cover at local events but also for national emergencies when our personnel and fully equipped vehicles become an integral part of any response - as has been proven in recent years at London's "7/7" bombings; scaffolding collapse in Milton Keynes and floods in Oxfordshire.
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St John Ambulance teaches more people first aid than any other organization - workplace employees; members of other voluntary groups; sports teams; young people in schools and in our youth programmes. And, of course, people in the community. Our shortest courses are just three hours long and in this time we can teach you the skills which one day could make the difference between a life lost and a life saved.
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St John Ambulance is a registered charity. For further details of our charitable work - for which we receive no Government funding - please visit our national website at www.sja.org.uk or contact the Buckinghamshire County HQ by telephoning 01296 744360 or sending an email to countyhq@bucks.sja.org.uk.
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