ASB’s St John toy ambulance campaign is back to help put another much-needed ambulance on New Zealand roads.
This year, the popular block-set toy ambulance will now come with an ambulance station as part of a 419-piece building block set. The child-friendly boxsets are being sold for $30 at ASB branches across New Zealand from today.
ASB aims to raise money to buy another fully-functioning, fully equipped ambulance. All proceeds will go directly to St John.
This is the third time Kiwis will help put an ambulance on New Zealand roads, thanks to the toy ambulance campaign. Christchurch received the first ambulance in early 2016 and Dunedin received the campaign’s second big ambulance in July.
To date, the ASB-funded vehicles have responded to more than 4,200 incidents combined, transporting almost 2,600 of these to treatment centres in the local Dunedin and Canterbury communities.
ASB head of community, sponsorship and events Mark Graham says ASB has been a proud supporter of St John for 10 years.
“We know the ASB toy ambulance is a much-loved item so we’re excited to bring it back for a third year – this time it’s bigger and better than ever. In previous years we’ve heard kids and adults have made their own ambulance stations so we thought we’d add one to complete the set,” Mr Graham says.
“We hope New Zealanders support St John again with this year’s campaign. Not only is it a great way to support St John, Kiwis can look forward to seeing a brand new ambulance on the road and know they played a part in making that happen.”
St John director of commercial services Peter Loveridge says the ASB toy ambulance sets will no doubt be a sell-out again this year.
“In addition to providing a fantastic Christmas gift idea, we hope this year’s ASB St John toy ambulance and station will again help us realise a real, full-size ambulance for New Zealand’s roads,” Mr Loveridge says.
“I’m also happy to tell fellow parents who may be as geometrically challenged as me that the set comes with easy-to-follow instructions!”
St John at the frontline of emergency services
With more than 500,000 ambulance calls, 469,000 patients cared for and nearly 20 million kilometres travelled in the past year alone, St John ambulances and their paramedics are at the frontline of emergency services.
St John has more than 18,000 paid and volunteer personnel and 663 ambulances and operational vehicles throughout the country, responding to more than 1,300 emergency calls daily, 24 hours a day and 365 days a year.
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ASB and St John
ASB and St John have enjoyed a strong and positive partnership since 2008. ASB is involved with St John in many ways:
- All ASB branches are equipped with an AED (Automatic Heart Defibrillator) and have AED-trained staff ready to help in an emergency.
- In 2016 ASB became the new sponsor of ASB St John in Schools, a first aid programme which teaches Kiwi kids life-saving skills and the confidence to take action in an emergency.
- ASB staff volunteer on St John Area Committees, at local St John events, or as Caring Callers.
- ASB staff contribute to the St John Annual Appeal fundraising.
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The ASB St John toy ambulance comes in a box containing assembly instructions, stickers and 419 small parts (not suitable for children under 3 years of age). The ambulance toy is 12.7cm long x 5.5cm wide x 7cm high. The ambulance station is 25.5cm long x 16cm wide x 11.5cm high.
The ASB St John toy ambulances and stations are available from ASB branches from November 27, while stocks last.