St John Fund established in memory of past volunteers

A mystery benefactor has stepped forward to launch a new fund it is hoped will secure the future for our local branch of St John.  

The Sunrise Foundation was approached by an anonymous donor who has provided seed funding to launch the St John Gisborne-Tairāwhiti Endowment Fund.  The donor said, “I wanted to honour the memories of all the dads, mums, brothers and sisters that volunteered and got our local St John service up and running in the first place.”  

Glenda Stokes, Sunrise Executive Officer says, “After receiving the initial donation, I spoke with a few other potential donors and am thrilled with the response, although we would love more donors to step forward to help secure the future of St John. No donation is ever too big or too small.” 

Glenda says it’s the strength of the foundation’s endowment model that appealed to these donors and knowing that any money they donated stayed local.  

Maree Donaldson, St John committee member says, “We are so grateful, and knowing we'll receive a bit of extra funding every year forever is amazing.”  

 St John Gisborne’s Ambulance Division was established in 1925 and covers a large area of the East Coast, stretching from Wairoa right up to Hicks Bay. They provide emergency ambulance services and community health programmes within the region, as well as youth leadership programmes which are some of the strongest in the country.  

Glenda says, “St John is such a valued service, and these anonymous donations show how much they resonate in our community.”  

All donations to the St John Gisborne-Tairāwhiti Endowment Fund will be invested, protected and grown to keep up with inflation. The surplus investment income will be returned to the local St John branch every year forever.  

Donate to suppport the St John Gisborne-Tairāwhiti Endowment Fund.