St John Ambulance records £2.4m donations boost amid pandemic

St John Ambulance boosted its income from donations by £2.4m during the Covid-19 health crisis.

The figures for the financial year ending 31 December 2020, show that the charity attracted £14.2m in donations and gifts, compared to £11.8m the previous year.

Legacies were also up, from £3.4m in 2019 to £3.9m in 2020.

The financial statement has been revealed in the charity’s annual accounts, which also highlights a boost in income from grants.

Grants were up from £1.2m in 2019 to £7.3m during 2020. The bulk of this rise was through a government support grant of £6.8m to help cope with the pandemic.

The annual report also highlights the charity’s role supporting the NHS in tackling the Covid health crisis.

This includes carrying out 14,000 hours of winter pressure support for health services, training 60,000 people in workplace and general first aid and training 4,000 volunteers in Covid Care.

In January the charity announced that more than 30,000 people had signed up through the charity to help administer the Covid-19 vaccination programme at centres nationwide.

During 2020 the charity announced “significant cost-saving measures” as it looked to secure its long-term future amid the pandemic. This involved the closure of around a third of its buildings.

In a message to the charity's volunteers, St John Ambulance chair Lionel Jarvis said: “The hard choices made to sustain our charity with financial constraints, property disposals and job losses have added to the demands that we place upon our people; yet your powerful determination to deliver has been unyielding.

“We have trained, treated and transported the nation, we have helped to vaccinate its population, and we have improved the lives of the people about whom we care so much.”