Second-hand goods help new St John build in Napier

St John Hawke's Bay area committee member Cody Booth (left) and St John area committee chairman Tony Ludlow, checking out Threads Community Clothing Store in Hastings. Photo / Warren Buckland

St John Hawke's Bay and Threads Community Clothing Store are teaming up to help make a difference to the Hawke's Bay community. The collaboration allows members of the public to drop donated goods, with funds going towards the local St John. Funds donated to St John will be used to support the Napier Ambulance Station rebuild and local St John Community activities.

"It's fantastic to have teamed up with a local business to make a difference in our community. St John very much appreciates the support from Threads Community Clothing Store and our community. Having local support makes such a big difference for us," says St John Hawke's Bay area committee member Cody Booth.

Threads opened its first shop in Karamu Rd in 2014, next door to Stanton Print. Owner Craig Stanton donated part of his premises which was converted into retail premises, with a greater space opening up two years ago after Threads expanded its business, says Craig's wife and Threads operator Delwyn Stanton.

"One of the goals that Threads has had from the very beginning has been to provide our community with good-quality clothing at a reasonable price. Bringing St John on board is a new venture for Threads. St John is a local, well known and respected charity. Coupled with the intention and desire to support local charities, the volunteers at Threads agreed that supporting St John would be a worthwhile venture."

Delwyn says Threads has nine volunteers who work shifts from Tuesday to Thursday, 10am to 4pm and always welcomes more volunteers, in order for the shop to extend its shop hours.

"Our volunteers sort, tag and price clothing ready for the shop, and carry out general shop duties."

St John Hawke's Bay area committee chairman Tony Ludlow says St John is excited to be partnering with Threads Community Clothing Store.

"This opportunity will help us continue to fund important health initiatives that provide care and build resilience in our communities."

In addition to providing emergency ambulance services in Hawke's Bay and the rest of New Zealand, St John offers a range of products and services including first aid training, mental health first aid training, medical alarms, and first aid supplies. St John also provides a range of charitable community health services which are designed to improve the health and wellbeing of communities around the country and enable people to live strong, independent lives for longer. These include the St John Youth programme, ASB St John in Schools, Health Shuttles, Friends of the Emergency Department, Therapy Pets and Caring Callers.

St John Youth programmes help young New Zealanders to develop first aid, leadership, and life skills. These include Penguins, aged 6 to 8 and Cadets aged 8 to 18.

"The ASB St John in Schools programme takes our people into schools across New Zealand, training pre-school, primary and intermediate school-aged children to be clever little lifesavers. Our Friends of the Emergency Department (FED) and Hospital Friends volunteers provide comfort and support to patients and their families in hospital emergency departments, as well as other departments and smaller hospitals."

The St John Health Shuttle is a koha-based community service that transports people to and from vital health-related appointments that they otherwise cannot get to. Caring Caller is a free telephone friendship service that St John provides for people who live alone or feel a bit lonely. Volunteers phone clients regularly to check that everything is okay.

"St John has almost 9000 wonderful volunteers throughout New Zealand and we are always on the lookout for more volunteers – from our youth leaders to health shuttle drivers. It's a great organisation to be part of and our volunteers regularly tell us they love what they do," Tony says.

St John fundraising efforts go towards the running of these community services.

"Fundraising activity spans from community donations, regular giving, bequests, grants, and commercial partnerships such as the one with Threads."

St John Hawke's Bay territory manager Brendon Hutchinson says St John's emergency ambulance service is funded by around 80 per cent through contracts with the Ministry of Health and the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC), with the balance made up from ambulance part-charges, third-party contracts and fundraising.

"St John is grateful to Threads for their interest in partnering with us. Their support will see some funding go towards building our new ambulance station in Hawke's Bay, which will provide our ambulance officers with a modern, purpose-built facility to ensure we can meet the long-term needs of the community. The new building will also enable St John to cater for different activities and opportunities available to the community."

The new station is being built on Tait Dr in Napier and is expected to be completed by mid-2022.