St John Harvey Sub Centre saves $1 million over 25 years with no outside funding for an all new extension

After 25 years of saving lives and money, the St John Harvey Sub Centre has finally reached the $1 million fundraising mark, allowing for important upgrades to the facilities. The Harvey-based branch — which attended 1387 call-outs in the Harvey area last year — saved its service fees since 1996, building upon an initial $20,000 in reserves to reach $1,069,000 with no outside funding. Run by 42 volunteers, the sub branch spent its hard-earned reserves on a new extension that was officially opened at the weekend. The new facility features purpose built on-site accommodation and specialised debriefing areas. Harvey sub centre chair Paul Beech said the upgrades were warmly welcomed by the volunteers and the community. “From a small ambulance branch with one emergency vehicle in 1935, to a well-established training centre with three operational vehicles, we are looking forward to supporting the Harvey community,” he said. More than half of the sub centre’s volunteers are based outside Harvey and require on-site accommodation during 12-hour shifts. “We now have a new fit-for-purpose facility, fully accessible, a modern office and extremely comfortable accommodation for our on-site officers,” Mr Beech says. St John chief executive Michelle Fyfe expressed a heartfelt thanks to the community and said the upgrade showed Harvey’s dedication to its St John volunteers. “I could not be prouder to be the St John CEO than I am right now on occasions such as this,” she said. “There’s been some great focuses in the approach, particularly the on-site accommodation, the ability for people to travel to Harvey to volunteer for the Harvey community and have somewhere to stay. “The greatest donation that anyone make to the St John organisation and to their community is time.”