Thursday, November 17, 2005

Petitcodiac Division 676 St. John Ambulance , N.B. Council Receives a Grant From U.S. UPS Foundation

( Cutline For Photo) Left to Right:

Gilles Bazinet, UPS Moncton Accounting Supervisor; Diane Wilson, PR Petitcodiac Div. 676 SJA; Tammy Bilodeau, UPS Controller; Donna Constantine, Superintendent of the Petitcodiac Div. 676 SJA; Carla Steeves, Casualty Simulator Petitcodiac Div 676 SJA and UPS employee; Larry Broad, Finance Officer SJA NB Council; Janice Cook, UPS Moncton Systems Programmer.


Recently the Petitcodiac Division, 676, St. John Ambulance received a Community Investment Grant in the amount of $29,000.00 U.S. ($34,000.00 Canadian) from the UPS Foundation, the charitable arm of UPS (NYSE:UPS)

This money will be used to purchase new equipment, new training aids, supplies for the Mobile First Aid Post, outfit the members with new uniforms, help support the Petitcodiac St. John Ambulance Youth Group as they endeavors to attract new members to both groups.

The St. John Ambulance Canada is a community service and so much more. It is a world-wide, non-denominational charitable organization, dedicated to the service of others. The St. John Ambulance was founded in Canada in 1882. Under this banner, volunteers from coast-to-coast carry out the humanitarian services of the Most Venerable Order of the hospital of St. John of Jerusalem.

The mission and dedication of the St. John Ambulance is to enable Canadians to improve their health, safety and quality of life by providing training and community service. Their first aid and CPR training services consist of more than 7,000 instructors, volunteers and staff who provide high quality first aid training and products. Led by a highly skilled network of medical and health care professionals, their program development specialists have positioned St. John Ambulance as the national leader in first aid, setting the standard for training in first aid, CPR and other life-saving skills.

A Few Quick Facts:

* St. John Ambulance is one of Canada's oldest charitable organizations, with more than 25,000 volunteers from coast-to-coast.
* It has 13,000 community service volunteers and more than 2,200 youth members.
* They support 1,900 Therapy Dog members who provide thousands of hours of visitation for people living in hospitals, nursing and retirement homes.
* The St. John Ambulance is there whenever tragedy strikes as part of the national emergency response network.
* The St. John Ambulance and their volunteers are on hand whenever a crowd gathers to provide first aid assistance.
* They have a volunteer presence in over 300 towns and cities across Canada, and give more than two million hours of voluntary service each year.
* They provide annual scholarships to nursing students at undergraduate and graduate levels.
* They honour members of the communities with Life-Saving Awards for acts of bravery and heroism in an attempt to save a life.
* They partner with government and private sector agencies to develop innovative, leading edge programs and state-of-the-art products.
* First aid advice is given to Worker's Compensation Boards and Occupational Health and Safety Divisions.
* The St. John Ambulance were first to offer computer-based first aid programs.
* They have the most definitive Instructor Certification Program, with the highest standards in the industry.
* The St. John Ambulance deliver the most modern and innovative programs in First Aid, CPR, Automated External Defibrillation (AED), Wilderness First Aid and other custom courses.
* The St. John Ambulance train over a half million Canadians each year.

The Petitcodiac Division 676 St. John Ambulance has been in existence since 1973, serving the communities of Petitcodiac, Elgin, Anagance, Havelock and River Glade, first as an actual ambulance service, and since 1996 as a first aid and training service. They provide the First Aid coverage for all events in these communities from annual horse shows, hockey tournaments, county fairs, air shows, motor cross and stock car races to river runs. Wherever the community gathers for an event, some of their members are in attendance.

Donna Constantine, Divisional Superintendent, states,
"This grant has removed a large burden we have been carrying since 1997. Prior to receipt of this grant most of our fundraising has gone towards keeping our Mobile First Aid Post serviceable and roadworthy. It has been a struggle to balance the need for new equipment, uniforms, etc., with the need to keep the Mobile First Aid Post up and running. Now we can put our fundraising efforts into purchasing a newer model for our First Aid Post. Mrs. Carla Steeves, one of our dividisional volunteers works for UPS Moncton. If she were not an employee, we probably would not have even heard about the Grant availability. We, as a division extend our heartfelt gratitude to Mr. Giles Bazinet and Mrs. Janice Cooke of the Moncton UPS for their help and support throughout the Grant process."

Established in 1951 and based in Atlanta, GA., the UPS Foundation identifies specific areas where its backing clearly impacts social issues. In support of their strategic approach The UPS Foundation has identified literacy, hunger relief and volunteering as its focus areas.

In 2004, the UPS Foundation distributed nearly $40 million worldwide through grants that benefit organizations or programs such as the St. John Ambulance and provide support for building stronger communities.

"Giving back to the communities is an important part of UPS's culture that's embraced by our employees through volunteering, making donations and sharing their intellectual capital," said Evern Cooper Epps, President of The UPS Foundation and Vice President of UPS Corporate Relations.
"Together with nonprofit partners such as St. John Ambulance, we work to make a positive impact on the lives of people in need."

For more information in the UPS Foundation visit their web site: www.ups.com

I would like to thank Diane Wilson of Salisbury, a volunteer with the Petitcodiac Division 676 of St. John Ambulance for supplying me with material and photo for this article.