Volunteer for St John this Awareness Week

St John media release, 13 June 2008

Volunteer for St John this Volunteer Awareness Week

During Volunteer Awareness Week, St John would love to hear from anyone interested in volunteering for St John, St John Chief Executive Jaimes Wood saystoday.

Volunteer Awareness Week runs from Sunday 15 to Saturday 21 June 2008.The Week is co-ordinated by Volunteering New Zealand, an association of organisations with a strong commitment to volunteering.

“St John highly values the contribution of our volunteers. It is thanks to our volunteers that we are able to provide the level of service we currently provide to communities throughout New Zealand,” Mr Wood says.

Volunteers contribute to our full range of services including Ambulance, Archives, Area Committees, Caring Callers, Event Services, Fellowship Groups, St John Friends of the Emergency Department, Health Shuttles, Hospitaller’s Clubs and the St John Youth Programme. We also have volunteers providing services in Administration and Support.

St John in New Zealand has 13,000 members, of whom just over 7000 are volunteers.  Of our approximately 3100 ambulance officers, 2300are volunteers.

“We are always interested in hearing from new volunteers or potential volunteers, including people with no previous experience of ambulance, health or community services or of volunteering. We provide training and support,” Mr Wood says.

“Our volunteers come from a wide range of backgrounds, including homemakers, accountants, farmers, orchardists, doctors, lawyers, teachers, hospitality staff, plumbers and electricians – the list is virtually endless.”

Volunteering brings many benefits on top of giving to the community and helping people. Volunteering for St John opens doors to new skills and experiences, and personal growth and development. Individuals can train in a wide variety of disciplines, increase their confidence and gain wider work experience.

Anyone interested in volunteering for St John may go to www.stjohn.org.nzor phone 0800 ST JOHN (78 5646)

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