St John Flag Day

This Saturday is the annual St John Ambulance Guernsey ‘Flag Day’. Volunteers from St John will be at various locations around the island collecting donations to continue the excellent work of the charity locally.

Adult volunteers, first aiders, Cadets & Badgers, St John Fellowship members and other supporters will be at venues including M&S at L’Islet and St Martins, Admiral Park, Earlswood Garden Centre, Waitrose on the Rohais, Morrisons at L’Islet and Le Friquet Garden Centre.

Funds raised from the ‘Flag Day’ will be used to support St John Ambulance Guernsey in a variety of areas including:-

• First Aid cover at local sporting and community events
• Badgers and Cadets 
• Care in the Community Library
• Cycle Response Unit 
• Community First Responders
• The Flying Christine Marine Ambulance

St John has been helping improve the lives of islanders since the 1930s. Every year St John provides first aid cover at around 100 local events, with St John volunteers giving more than 1000 hours of their time to the community. The Cycle Response Unit is deployed at large public events such as Liberation Day and the Rocquainne Regatta. The Community Library is run by a team of dedicated volunteers and loans out on average of 75 large print books each week. Young people experience hours of activities, including first aid and personal development skills thanks to a small team of Badger and Cadet leaders. Volunteer Community First Responders (CFRs) attend life-threatening calls in the minutes before an ambulance crew arrives.

The ‘Flag Day’ falls on St John Day, which is held on the nearest Saturday to 24^thJune, a date that marks the birth of St John the Baptist. To mark the occasion, as well as local events there are several national celebrations in the UK, including a Service of Commemoration & Rededication at St Paul’s Cathedral which recognises the contribution of St John People over the past 900 years. Representatives from Guernsey have been invited to attend the ceremony, the Priory’s General Assembly and other events in London. 

While these are celebrations and the ‘Flag Day’ are going on, St John Ambulance Guernsey volunteers will also be on duty, providing first aid cover at four local community events.