St John Ambulance Drive-a-thon reaches Canberra
The St John Ambulance inaugural Drive-a-thon was in Canberra between 22nd and 25th November.
The Drive-a-thon vehicles have embarked on a nine-week, 16,000km journey educating Australians about the importance of CPR and how vital early access to defibrilators is in the event of a cardiac arrest.
On Saturday 23rd November the Drive-a-thon set up at Bunnings Majura where members of the public were given the opportunity to learn about how to give CPR from one of our dedicated volunteers. They were then able to test out their newly honed skills by performing compression-only CPR on one of our manikins.
The Drive-a-thon made its way to Parliament House on Monday morning where we were joined by school groups, politicians, sporting groups and St John CEO's from around the country. We heard from St John Ambulance National CEO, Brendan Maher, who spoke about the importance of all Australians having skills in CPR and the impact of access to defibrilators. Our CEO, Martin Fisk, also spoke and made some generous donations on behalf of the Drive-a-thon and also St John ACT.
Martin gifted First Aid Kits to Roundabout Canberra, these kits will go to families in need to support their safety and wellbeing. Some First Aid Kits were also gifted to Galilee School who will give these kits to students undertaking the Duke of Edinburg Award. Martin gifted a defibrillator to Canberra United on behalf of the Drive-a-thon. This defibrillator will be installed at McKellar Park and will be accessible to the thousands of fans who attend Canberra United home games during the season.
The Drive-a-thon will continue through NSW and Queensland, before heading over to Uluru and down through the desert to Adelaide. One of the ways you can support the Drive-a-thon is by purchasing a ticket in the Christmas Home Lottery. You could go in the draw to win an amazing $5 million Grand Prize Package (full terms and conditions on the website). You can also help this life saving mission by purchasing kilomteres, $1 buys 1km and every dollar gets us closer to our $16,000 goal.
Could can also help to support St John and to save lifes by enrolling in a First Aid or CPR course. The skills you learn today, could help save a life tomorrow.
