Who we are and what we do

St John Ambulance Cymru Crackerjackpot lottery

Who we are and what we do

Established in 1918, St John Ambulance Cymru is the first aid charity for Wales, with a proud history of helping at the heart of Welsh communities for over 100 years. Supported by more than 2,600 volunteers, our mission is to save lives and enhance the health and wellbeing of communities across Wales. We do this by fulfilling key frontline roles, providing vital support to our emergency services when they need us most. Our volunteers provide lifesaving services to their local communities, providing first aid treatment at events and teaching invaluable skills to community members all year round.

St John Ambulance Cymru are also part of the St John international family of charities and are an independent Priory of the Order of St John, a Royal Order of Chivalry. Our International family is present in over 44 Countries around the world, where together we help deliver first aid and provide healthcare services.

Why we need support

First aid can be the difference between a life lost and a life saved. It can also have a huge impact on someone’s chance of recovery and the difference between them having a short term or more permanent disability.

The challenge for large areas of Wales is the relative rurality of many communities. This means that emergency services will often take longer to arrive than in more urban areas. St John Ambulance Cymru plays an important role in facilitating the lifesaving training and treatment that could make the difference between someone being able to provide vital first aid before healthcare professionals arrive or not.

It is only with support that we will achieve our vision of first aid for everyone, anytime, anywhere. Support will enable us to develop our support for volunteers, to enhance our first aid services and to ensure that more people can be taught the skills and given the confidence to save lives in Wales.

Did you know?

In Wales, more than 6,000 people a year go into cardiac arrest outside of hospital. 80% of those take place at home. Only 30% – 40% of people who suffer a cardiac arrest outside of hospital will receive CPR from someone in the community.

A person’s survival chances are reduced by 10% for every passing minute without action. If a defibrillator is used on a patient within a couple of minutes, they have a 60%-70% chance of making a full recovery. The quicker you act, the more chance you have to save someone’s life.

Support will help us to deliver the following services

Training in the Community

The aim of our Community Training Programme is to put first aiders in every community, and train every child in Wales with lifesaving first aid skills. We offer schools, community and voluntary groups free first aid sessions that are tailored to their needs.

For schools, our sessions range from simple demonstrations to give younger children some first aid awareness, to more engaged training for older children, including resuscitation (CPR), providing essential first aid skills and knowledge.

For community and voluntary groups, this training includes: Basic First Aid, Outdoor First Aid, Child and Infant First Aid, Mental Health First Aid and Public Access Defib Awareness.

Programmes for Children and Young People

We run programmes for children and young people from the age of 3, giving them the opportunity to learn and grow through meetings, events and experiential learning. All our programmes teach valuable skills in first aid, communication, leadership, co-operation and forming foundational values in citizenship, compassion, and empathy. They are the perfect springboard for our health care professionals of the future such as paramedics or nurses.

We have 1,090 members across Wales who attend local groups in their communities. We want to make sure every child and young person in Wales, regardless of their background, has basic first aid skills. With support, we aim to increase access and enhance the experiences for our children and young people across Wales.

Supporting our Volunteers and Divisional Buildings

We want all our Divisions to be welcoming and safe spaces for our volunteers and the communities they serve. St John Ambulance Cymru has nearly 80 Divisions across the length and breadth of Wales, most of which run weekly groups for children and young people. Our Divisions continue to be at the very heart of our communities, providing lifesaving first aid training, first aid cover at local events and hubs for communities to come together in a safe environment.

We need support to keep all our Divisions and buildings open.

We want all our Divisions to continue attending local community events, providing vital first aid cover and helping safeguard the public across Wales. Finally, we know our Divisional buildings provide a safe and warm place for our volunteers to come together on a weekly basis and enjoy meeting with one another, which is vital to many of our volunteers’ wellbeing.