Haverhill First Responders

03/09/2026

Did you know we can deliver CPR and AED awareness training to your community group, workplace or club?

We are proud to be part of this initiative from East of England Ambulance Service Charity, having delivered 15 HEART courses in Haverhill during this year so far:

Cambridgeshire HEART Volunteers Help Train More Than 1,500 Potential Lifesavers in Just Six Months.

The Cambridgeshire HEART scheme is celebrating a remarkable milestone after delivering 85 HEART training sessions and equipping 1,533 members of the public with potentially life-saving resuscitation skills in just six months.

From eager Scouts and Cubs to pupils in schools, children in nurseries, participants at sporting events, and members of local community groups, HEART instructors have been busy sharing vital Basic Life Support (BLS) skills across the county. Their dedication, enthusiasm and willingness to volunteer their time have helped extend life-saving knowledge to people of all ages and backgrounds.

Every person trained represents another potential lifesaver within the community. Whether responding to a family member, friend, colleague or stranger experiencing a cardiac arrest, these newly acquired skills could one day make a crucial difference.

A lot of what we do is only possible through charitable giving and donations:

https://www.justgiving.com/page/haverhillcfr

A big thank you to those companies and organisations that support us:

Merck Group Merck Life Science / The EpiCentre Haverhill / Kedington Butchers / Little Thurlow Parish Council / And others!

02/09/2026

Remembering Beryl Kicks

On Thursday 26th August, we said goodbye to Beryl Kicks, one of the founding members of Haverhill First Responders.

Beryl began her career as a nurse in London before moving to Haverhill with her husband, Harry. She continued serving her community through St John Ambulance, becoming a Superintendent and playing an instrumental role in establishing the St John Ambulance station on Camps Road.

While later working at a local GP surgery, Beryl helped Margaret and Tim Marks establish the Haverhill First Responder Group with MAGPAS. The group subsequently became part of the East of England Ambulance Service, and Beryl continued as one of our trainers until ill health eventually led her to step down.

Her service to others extended well beyond medicine. A 3rd Dan black belt in karate, Beryl also helped train generations of young people through the Shotokan Karate Club.

Above all, Beryl was a wife, mother and much-loved grandmother.

We are enormously grateful for everything Beryl gave to Haverhill First Responders and our community, and for every patient she helped along the way.

Thank you for your service, Beryl. Sleep peacefully. 💚

22/08/2026

🚨2️⃣8️⃣🚨

In the past 12 months our public access defibs have been deployed 28 times in Haverhill.

That’s 28 lives they could have made a difference to in the worst possible circumstances.

This is why it is essential we regularly check they are in good condition as part of our on-call duties.

We fund the defibs through charitable donations, and our volunteer responders check each unit every week and replace batteries and pads as required.

Battery and pad costs run into hundreds of pounds for each unit.

Help us help you with a donation towards these running costs:

https://www.justgiving.com/page/haverhillcfr

You could help save a life.

20/08/2026

We fund and manage a network of public access defibrillators: 12 in Haverhill, 2 in Kedington and 1 in Thurlow.

Have you seen our yellow boxes when out and about in town?

To access one of our Public Access Defibs, you get the cabinet code from the 999 call handler when you call for the ambulance.

Part of our "On Call" duties is checking in on our public access defibrillators, ensuring they are ready to be deployed for the next cardiac arrest.

13/08/2026

Dispatched in moments, arrive in minutes.

Volunteer First Responders are here for Haverhill, being dispatched by Ambulance control to emergencies across the town and surrounding areas.

Help our mission here: https://www.justgiving.com/page/haverhillcfr

[Nb. The NMA call in this video was from "training mode" and not a real emergency, all numbers and details on screen are fictional.]

05/08/2026

Thank you to Haverhill Echo for publishing a news story on our CFR group today.

And a massive thank you to those donating using our just giving link: https://www.justgiving.com/page/haverhillcfr

"Services like this belong to the whole community."

04/08/2026

We're on a mission to better equip ourselves!

With four new responders we need to raise £725 to cover Ambulance uniforms. If you can help us, please donate here:

https://www.justgiving.com/page/haverhillcfr

As well as this we have two further projects seeking grant funding locally:

🚑 2x new full response bags, doubling our equipment so we can increase on-call hours.

🔋 New batteries and pads to future proof our network of over 14 public access defibrillators across Haverhill and surrounding villages.

29/07/2026

Please give us a thumbs up vote if you haven’t already!

When we receive a community investment grant (CIG) application, we want you to tell us whether you think we should support the local project or not.

We have a new application from Haverhill First Responders that we would love your feedback on.

They are applying for £3,500 to purchase a complete community first responder response kit.

The group estimates that the additional kit could provide at least 70 extra hours of responder availability each month, with the potential for this to increase as more volunteers are recruited. Success will be measured through the additional on-call hours provided, the number of emergency incidents attended using the new kit and improved access to equipment for the wider responder team.

The project is expected to support around 15 patients each month, benefiting approximately 180 people in its first year.

Find our more and have your say here When we receive a community investment grant (CIG) application, we want you to tell us whether you think we should support the local project or not.

We have a new application from Haverhill First Responders that we would love your feedback on.

They are applying for £3,500 to purchase a complete community first responder response kit.

The group estimates that the additional kit could provide at least 70 extra hours of responder availability each month, with the potential for this to increase as more volunteers are recruited. Success will be measured through the additional on-call hours provided, the number of emergency incidents attended using the new kit and improved access to equipment for the wider responder team.

The project is expected to support around 15 patients each month, benefiting approximately 180 people in its first year.

Find our more and have your say here
https://www.havebury.com/residents/get-involved/community-investment-grants/

28/07/2026

Any extra local support for our Responder's kit and the public access AEDs greatly appreciaited!

🚨 Haverhill Community First Responders – Every Minute Matters ❤️‍🩹

Today I met with Steve Bryant and Bradley Wright from Haverhill Community First Responders to learn more about the incredible work they do and the challenges they face.

Last month alone, this team of volunteers spent 118 hours on call and attended 19 Category 1 and Category 2 life-threatening or urgent incidents. That is an extraordinary commitment by people giving up their own time to help others when every minute matters.

I have seen first-hand just how invaluable Community First Responders are. They are often the first people to reach someone in a medical emergency, providing lifesaving treatment before an ambulance crew arrives. Those precious few minutes really can mean the difference between life and death.

The team has now grown to 14 Community First Responders, which is fantastic news. However, they currently have only two fully equipped response kit bags between them. A complete kit bag costs around £3,500, so expanding the team also means finding the resources to equip them properly.

Their public-access defibrillator network also needs ongoing investment. The batteries have to be replaced approximately every five years, while pads must be replaced after use or when they expire. These are significant costs, and they are not funded by the NHS. Neither, for that matter, are the volunteers’ uniforms or much of the essential equipment they rely on. (Brad and Steve were off duty today, so they’re not pictured in uniform!)

Today we discussed a grant application, which I’m pleased to support. It will certainly help, but it won’t solve the longer-term funding challenge.

I will also be encouraging fellow local councillors, whatever their political persuasion, to support Haverhill Community First Responders. This is an invaluable service that belongs to the whole community. When it comes to saving lives, teamwork matters far more than politics.

If you’re a local business, organisation or resident and would be willing to help, please do consider getting in touch. Every contribution, large or small, will help this incredible team continue saving lives.

You can also support the team by making a donation through their JustGiving page:

https://www.justgiving.com/page/haverhillcfr?utm_source=CL&utm_medium=DT

Thank you to Steve, Bradley and every one of the volunteers for everything you do for our community. It is genuinely appreciated.

❤️‍🩹👏 Together, we can help ensure these amazing volunteers have the equipment they need to keep saving lives.

Haverhill First Responders
Haverhill Town Council
West Suffolk Council
Suffolk County Council
Nick Timothy

24/07/2026

🚑 You could help save a life in just 30 seconds.

All we need is 30 seconds of your time.

✅ Visit: https://www.havebury.com/residents/get-involved/community-investment-grants/
✅ Scroll down to New CIG Grants
👍 Thumbs up for the Haverhill Community First Responders

This Havebury grant is to help increase the kit bags available to our responders.

Every vote brings us one step closer to securing funding that will directly benefit our local community.

Please also consider sharing this post with friends and family... every vote really does make a difference.

Thank you for your support, and thank you to Havebury Homes for considering our application! ❤️

Our community investment grants benefit our wider communities, as well as our residents. Find out who we have helped and how you can apply here.