Pure Cremation donates £1,500 to St Andrews’s First Aid

Pure Cremation has donated £1,500 to St Andrew’s First Aid, Scotland’s only dedicated first aid charity, to help them achieve its ambition of “creating a nation of lifesavers”.

Pure Cremation presented the donation to the charity, whose work and fundraising efforts have suffered over the past two years due to the impact of the pandemic.

St Andrew’s First Aid aims to deliver training to some 13,000 people every year. Since the start of Covid19 the charity’s community fundraising events – which are its main source of income – have had to be cancelled, with funds drying up as a result.

It said the charity was also forced to cancel its community training scheme. Instead, most of St Andrew’s First Aid’s volunteers lent their time and skills elsewhere in their respective communities, such as delivering medicines and supplies to vulnerable residents and helping out at NHS vaccination hubs.

Ian Kirk is the regional manager for Pure Cremation Scotland and Northern Ireland and a volunteer with St Andrew’s First Aid.

Kirk joined the charity at the age of nine and worked his way up over many years to become a fully-fledged first aid trainer. He is still a volunteer today, juggling his charitable activities with his career and family life.

“He said: “St Andrew’s First Aid is a fantastic cause which over many years has equipped generations of families across Scotland with invaluable skills which in turn will have helped saved countless lives.

“Like other charities, its income has been severely impacted by the pandemic, as has its community activities. At a time when donations to charity are reducing but costs still need to be met, we are pleased to award this sum to help St Andrew’s First Aid continue in its vital work.”

The donation to St Andrew’s First Aid is one of six being made to charities across the UK, totalling £13,000.