Eastbourne Area Community First Responders awarded The King’s Award for Voluntary Service
The trustees, volunteers and supporters of Eastbourne Area Community First Responders (EACFR) are delighted to announce that the organisation has been honoured with the prestigious, The King’s Award for Voluntary Service (KAVS), in recognition of their exceptional voluntary contributions to emergency care and community resilience within the Eastbourne area. This recognition, the highest honour given to local volunteer groups in the UK and equivalent to an MBE, celebrates outstanding achievement in voluntary service to communities.
Since its formation 16 years ago, Eastbourne Area Community First Responders has operated as a volunteer-led organisation, providing an emergency response within the Eastbourne and neighbouring areas, helping to save lives as part of a team of over 400 Community First Responders within the South East Coast Ambulance Service.
Volunteers attend calls at all hours, often arriving ahead of ambulance crews to stabilise patients and give vital minutes of care before becoming part of the team caring for the patient delivering a seamless chain of survival. They also provide comfort and support to distressed relatives while the patient receives treatment. Over the years many of the team have gone onto having a career within the ambulance service either as frontline crews or in the emergency call centre.
The group is actively involved within the community and holds training sessions in schools, workplaces and community venues training all age groups on how to perform CPR and the use of a defibrillator. The team biggest event of the year is working with their Emergency Service partners in delivering the 999 weekend on the Western Lawns equipping more than 1,600 local people with life-saving techniques. In recent years residents have come back to say the skills they learnt have assisted them in treating a loved one who has been choking, unconscious or in cardiac arrest. The KAVS is awarded for life and marks a significant milestone in the organisation’s history.
Richard Bradford, Team Leader, said “I can’t express enough how very proud I am to be part of the team. I am immensely proud of every member and supporter of the team and to be their team leader is a privilege. This Award is a tribute to their commitment, courage and compassion. Day in, day out, they step forward to support our community in moments of greatest need. To be recognised with the King’s Award for Voluntary Service is a true honour for the whole team.”
Dan Dunbar, Chair of Trustees, added “We are immensely proud of the team, those who have become before us and the trust placed in us by the local community and our ambulance service. This award is a powerful testament to what volunteers can achieve when they come together for the good of the community. It reflects the professionalism and heart of our volunteers, and reinforces our promise to continue serving the local community with dedication and care.”