Flag-raising at Town Hall honours 76 years of St. John Ambulance service to community

On Monday, June 19, St. John Ambulance volunteers gathered in front of the Algonquin Theatre for a flag-raising to launch St. John Ambulance Week (June 19-23) and commemorate 76 years of service to the Barrie Simcoe Muskoka community.

The eight-pointed cross on the St. John Ambulance flag is a symbol of the Order of St. John and is an international symbol of first aid. According to the Museum of the Order of St. John, Queen Victoria granted a royal charter to the Order of St John in 1888. “This made the official title of the organisation the ‘Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem’. As part of the royal charter, the Order was permitted to incorporate the royal beasts into its own symbol. This led to the lion and the unicorn being added to the traditional eight pointed cross of the Order, with the lion in the top left and bottom right segments, and the unicorn in the top right and bottom left segments.”

The St. John Ambulance flag will fly at Town Hall until the end of June.

In 2016, St. John Ambulance of Barrie Simcoe Muskoka:

• Provided 21,441 hours of volunteer service
• Had six community service units working in the community: two medical first responder units, two therapy dog units, one car seat unit and one youth unit
• Assisted 154 patients by a medical first responder
• Visited 2,709 clients along with a therapy dog
• Provided 3,151 hours of service toward the development of youth
• Educate 131 parents and guardians how to properly install a child car seat
• Trained 5,579 students in first aid, health and safety-related courses.

Upcoming Huntsville area courses provided by St. John Ambulance include:

Standard First Aid w/CPR Level A and Level C + AED

July 17 & 18 – Robinson’s Independent Grocers

August 20 & September 1 – Robinson’s Independent Grocers

September 28 & 29 – Trinity United Church, 33 Main Street

October 26 & 27 – Trinity United Church, 33 Main Street

November 30 & December 1 – Trinity United Church, 33 Main Street

Standard First Aid w/CPR Level A and Level C Renewal

August 1 – Robinson’s Independent Grocers

September 7 – Robinson’s Independent Grocers

October 20 – Robinson’s Independent Grocers

Babysitter and Home Alone Classes (Home Alone runs from 8:30 – 12:00 and Babysitter runs from 8:30 – 4:30)

August 18 – Robinson’s Independent Grocers

November 4 – Robinson’s Independent Grocers

Pet First Aid

September 10 – Robinson’s Independent Grocers

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