St John Ambulance Cymru supports the National Eisteddfod for another year

The iconic National Eisteddfod festival took place this week in Boduan, Gwynydd and of course the first aid charity for Wales, St John Ambulance Cymru was there to keep visitors safe.

The National Eisteddfod welcomes people from across the country, celebrating Welsh culture and language. St John Ambulance Cymru volunteers were out in force throughout the week supporting the festival and its visitors by providing vital first aid cover for the entire event.

At the charity’s stand, members were delivering free first aid demonstrations to the public, sharing lifesaving skills. St John Ambulance Cymru were also offering their new ‘Raise Your Buckets’ campaign hats in exchange for a donation, raising money to support their vital work in communities across Wales.

St John Ambulance Cymru were demonstrating key first aid skills like CPR, defibrillator use and choking recovery at their festival stall. These demonstrations were delivered bilingually, to people of all ages. Children were flocking to the stand to use the CPR dummies to practice their skills.

“It was so great to see so many people, especially young people, engage with us at the Eisteddfod” said Alan Drury, Community and Events Fundraising Manager, who helped out at the event. He recalls how one young girl called Alice, aged 7, recognised him from St John Ambulance Cymru’s stand at the Royal Welsh Agricultural Show a few weeks prior.

Alan and the team had taught Alice and her Mum how to deliver CPR and she wanted to show him that she’d remembered what he’d taught her. “It was such a special moment and reminded me why I love being a part of St John Ambulance Cymru. These young people are future lifesavers, having them learn these skills so early on means they will grow up to be confident in first aid.”

“It was also great to see people getting behind our ‘Raise Your Buckets’ summer fundraising campaign. Everyone seemed to love our bucket hats, especially on the sunny days!”

St John Ambulance Cymru volunteers supported the festival by providing first aid cover from 9am-midnight each day, with a team of first aiders, nurses, paramedics, a doctor and two ambulances on the ground at all times.

This team of dedicated volunteers have ensured everyone has enjoyed the festivities as safely as possible throughout the week.

Leigh Beere, National Events Operations Manager at St John Ambulance Cymru said, “It was a pleasure to support such an iconic event in Wales and come rain or shine our incredible volunteers from across Wales were ready to help.

Diolch i’n holl wirfoddolwyr am eu cefnogaeth yn Llŷn ac Eifionydd 2023!

If you didn’t catch team St John Ambulance Cymru at the Eisteddfod, but are keen to donate and purchase your very own bucket hat, please visit www.sjacymru.org.uk/en/appeals/raise-your-buckets to order yours today! Donations will support the charity’s lifesaving work across Wales.

About St John Ambulance Cymru

• St John Ambulance Cymru are Wales’ leading first aid charity
• We teach people lifesaving skills including physical and mental health first aid, so they can be the difference between a life lost and a life saved
• We provide emergency first aid, provides medical cover at events
• We transport patients to and from hospital to support the Welsh Ambulance Service
• We depend on charitable donations to enable us to help save and train others to save lives across Wales
• We’re an independent charity and works separately to ‘St John Ambulance’, which operates in England
• We operate a Patient Transport Service (PTS), working with the health boards transporting people to and from hospitals and our services have supported the Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust during the COVID-19 pandemic
• We work closely with NHS Wales, local health boards, social services, private hospitals, insurance companies and individuals, operating seven days a week, 365 days a year