Ryman Healthcare name St John their charity

St John and Ryman Healthcare media release

10 June 2009

Ryman Healthcare name St John their charity

Ryman Healthcare has selected St John as their national charity for a year, and will be raising funds to support St John.

St John provides ambulance and community services in partnership with communities, and relies on public support to provide their services. Ryman Healthcare Chief Executive Officer Simon Challies says: “We are very pleased to be able to support the work of St John in the community. St John performs an incredibly valuable service, much of which is reliant on volunteers, and our villages are resounding in their support of St John as our charity for the year.”

St John Chief Executive Jaimes Wood says St John is delighted with Ryman Healthcare’s generous decision to come on board and support St John. “It is only with the support of the public, including individuals and organisations, that we are able to continue providing our services and roll them out to new communities. This announcement is great timing, as our St John Appeal starts soon, running from 21 to 28 June 2009.”

Ryman Healthcare is one of the country’s largest providers of retirement village living and resthome / hospital services, and are six-time winners of the Australasian Aged Care Awards for Best Retirement Village in New Zealand. Ryman Healthcare’s 21 retirement villages and 4,000 residents and staff will take part in fundraising activities including fetes, raffles and market days to raise money for St John.

At the end of the 2009-10 year, the total raised by the villages will be matched dollar for dollar by Ryman Healthcare Head Office and donated to St John. During the year the Ryman villages and St John members will join together to offer the local communities information days – where elderly people can find out more about looking after their health and well-being and about St John services.

Funds raised will go towards a St John community care programme. St John community care programmes include Caring Caller, a telephone friendship service where volunteers make daily phone calls to support housebound, unwell or lonely people; and St John Friends of the Emergency Department where volunteers provide comfort and support to patients and their families in hospital emergency departments.

ENDS

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