Margaret Pearson with ambulance officer Irene Straker during the dedication ceremony held for the new ambulance donated by Margaret and her husband Bernie.
Cambridge couple Margaret and Bernie Pearson have donated a third vehicle to St John.
The handover late last month was welcomed by St John Central Region fundraising and marketing manager Jeanette Horan, who said: “We are incredibly grateful to the continued generosity of Bernie and Margaret Pearson who over the years have donated not one, but three vehicles to St John.”
The couple view that generosity as ‘simply giving back’. Their tally to date includes a first ambulance donated in 2017, a car donated in 2018 to take Cambridge residents to medical appointments in Hamilton, and now the second ambulance.
Jeanette said the first ambulance, donated in 2017 and fondly referred to as ‘Bernie’s Taxi’, is being redeployed to Ōtorohanga where it will provide a more modern ambulance for frontline staff. The moniker, Bernie’s Taxi, will in turn be handed on to the new vehicle.
“Bernie and Margaret maintain an exemplary relationship with St John Cambridge, attending meetings and functions as part of the St John family,” Jeanette said. “They remain outstanding ambassadors for St John amongst the retirement village and wider community, and the community of Cambridge. We are humbled by their support of St John.”
Bernie explained how it started – with an unexpected windfall and a suggestion that an ambulance might be a good way to use it.
“As we see it, charity begins at home, and over time, the vehicles have been well used. I have used the ambulance three times myself … it got me to the hospital in time. Without it, I would not be here.”
