Hale School’s community spirit raises funds to help save rural farming lives

• Hale Boarding Farmers’ Market has raised $10,000 for St John WA (SJWA).
• The money raised will go to putting publicly accessible Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) in rural communities to help save lives in a cardiac emergency.
• Sudden out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is a leading cause of death in Australia, with only one in 10 patients surviving.

Hale Boarding Farmers’ Market has raised $10,000 for St John WA (SJWA) to help rural and remote communities increase their emergency response, particularly in the event of sudden cardiac arrest.

Sudden out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is a leading cause of death in Australia, with only one in 10 patients surviving.

Increasing first aid skills and publicly accessible Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) in communities is globally recognised as increasing the likelihood of a person’s survival.

SJWA supports 160 regional response locations across 2.5 million square kilometres, most of which are serviced by volunteers coming to the aid of their often farming-led communities.

At an assembly celebrating National Boarding Week on May 12, Hale boarding student Jack Hallam reflected on volunteering and a strong sense of shared responsibility growing up in rural communities.

“Giving back isn’t just encouraged, it’s expected,” he told a senior assembly of his peers, which included 178 boarders – 63 per cent from farming-related families.

“Whether it’s driving hours to another town for rural footy, umpiring games, putting out neighbours’ fires or helping cook the Saturday night barbecues in the boarding house, volunteering becomes second nature.

“This would have been evident to see if you attend the Hale Farmers Market last term, possibly the best I’ve seen.

“Families traveling hundreds of kilometres from all around WA have come together in order to make the day as special as it was, with all the boys pitching in to make the day run smooth.”

He said St John’s country ambulance service being run almost entirely by volunteers was “a cause close to home”.

“Ordinary people trained to do extraordinary things,” Jack said.

“Funds raised help support these volunteers with essential medical equipment, vehicles and ongoing training, ensuring that communities, no matter how isolated, receive the care that they need when it matters most.”

St John WA Social Sustainability Manager Angel Robins thanked all those involved in raising the funds, which she said would go towards addressing some of the health gaps in farming regional areas, particularly in the wheatbelt.

“This money raised is going to go specifically into those towns where we can add one of our defibrillators,” she told the assembly.

“As one of the largest geographic ambulance services in the world servicing a third of Australia’s landmass, there’s no ambulance that can get to anyone suffering from a cardiac arrest quick enough.

“But if we have a defib, which is with the money that you raised, someone’s life can be saved.

“So I want to thank all of you for the funds that you’ve raised. It’s going to help save lives and change lives.”

Partner with St John WA in its commitment to building a strong and resilient Western Australia or volunteer today.