Life saving charity needs more volunteers to meet demand

The recruitment of new volunteers is a top priority for Newark Community First Aid to meet the demand for its help.

The charity's operations manager, Mr Philip Jessop, told the annual meeting it had been the busiest year to date.

He said demand on some dates was so high that a capping system had been introduced so they did not take on more than they could manage.

They attended 362 events including the Robin Hood Festival, events at Rufford Park and the Tour of Britain.

"We continue to see membership growing but demand for our services on some dates means we have to turn events down," he said.

"This year we will again focus on recruitment, as we know there are local events that would like us to provide their first aid cover, and we hope in the future we will be in a position to do this."

Mr Jessop said the Community Lifesaver Campaign, launched with the support of the Advertiser, had resulted in 2,668 people training on free community courses compared to 778 the previous year.

Administration manager Chris Paknoham outlined the charity's aims for next year and said recruitment was top priority.

She said five new volunteers were undertaking training and it is also planned to upgrade the training of members with courses planned for next month and November ensuring high quality care.

During the year the charity took delivery of a new mobile first aid unit and 12 digital radios. Fundraising has now started to buy another unit costing £35,000.

The chairman, Mr Peter Smith thanks businesses, funders and the public who made donations during the year.

Mrs Maureen Dobson, one of the charity's trustees, said she was amazed at the amount of work undertaken by volunteers. In the last year they gave 22,879 hours.

She thanked them all and said she was proud of their work and their commitment.