AN APPEAL FOR £16,000.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 20076, 4 November 1930, Page 15

AN APPEAL FOR £16,000.

ST. JOHN AMBULANCE ASSOCIATION. FUNDS FOR NEW BUILDING AND PLANT. The general appeal for £16,000 for the St. John Ambulance Association's scheme to erect a" building in brick on its site in Gloucester street, which will be of sufficient size to accommodate six ambulances, instruction rooms, and provide residence for the trained drivers of the ambulances, is to be launched at once. This was the decision reached at last evening's meeting of the St. John Ambulance Association's General Appeal Committee, which was held last evening. There was an attendance of over twenty, and Dr ; J. R. Thomas presided.

Dr. Thomas reported that an organiser, "J- Grierson, had been appointed to organise the appeal, and he had commenced his work. The Canterbury Jockey dub and the Show Grounds committees had been approached to see if it would be possible to carry out collections on their respective grounds •luring Carnival Week, but the permission could not be secured, as no collections were allowed inside the grounds. The country districts were to be canvassed, and business men had been approached. The question was whether the Association should go cn with the appeal for the lump sum required to carry out the complete building and ambulance scheme which had . been drawn up, or whether it should concentrate on the free ambulance service alone. He asked for opihions. Mr C. W. Hervc/ said that it was his opinion that the major appeal should be put off until after Now Year. lie suggested the middle of January as a suitable time.

In reply to a question the chairman said that the sum aimed at for the general appeal was tended that the building be erected by donations and maintained by subscriptions from year to year. It was expected that £2500 would be sufficient to maintain the whole of the Association's activities after the amount of A 16,000 had been raised.

Dr. F. J. Borrie, assistant commissioner of the Brigade, announced that the members of the Brigade had decided unanimously to assist the appeal by making collections voluntarily, and there would bo over 100 of the members available for that work. He did not support delaying the appeal

Mr G. Peek maintained that it was necessary to act at once. He said that another organisation was combing the City and the country, and moved that the appeal be commenced at oncc. His Lordship, Bishop Brodie, in seconding the resolution, said that the public owed a deep debt of gratitude to the St. John Ambulanco Association. There was no work that had been doing so much good for the public, and yet had been heard so little about. He maintained that it had been hiding its light under a bushel, 'tnd it was time that it was intimated that the Association had dozens of experts who gave their services, and that tho branch in Christchurcli had trained over 10,000 pupils. All that work had been carried out under big disadvantages, and now was the time when it should appeal for assistance to extend its work. There was no cause that would commend itself more to the public than that of the St. John Ambulance Association. It was unpleasant that another service of a similar nature had commenced, and he would not criticise it or its work, but that did not talce away the fact that tho Association had rendered invaluable services for fortyfive years. He was sure that any appeal, and one launched through the churches, tho Education Board, and other bodies would meet with a ready response, as the public would bo only too pleased to show its gratitude in a practical way. The motion was carried unanimously, and the following were appointed as members of a special appeal committee. with power to f>dd:—His Lordship Bishop Brodie, Dr. F. J. Borrie, Messrs A. C. Bretherton, C. W. Hervey, J. W. Graham, A. O. Wilkinson. P. H. Harris, the president, Dr. J. R. Thomas, tho organiser, and the secretary. During the week-end a total of eight calls received attention from the St. John Association Free Ambulance. Six of those calls were during the day time, and the ambulance was accompanied by a nursing sister in each instance. The other calls were during night hours, when the ambulance was accompanied by trained ambulance men. One call came froim Belfast.