FUNDRAISERS may be knocking on your door over the next few weeks as a national charity launches its new campaign.
The Berkshire arm of St John Ambulance has launched a door-to-door fundraising campaign and over the next few weeks representatives, wearing clothing bearing the distinctive St John Ambulance logo and carrying identification badges, will be calling house-to-house.
The fundraisers have been trained by specialist agency Wesser and will not be collecting cash or cheques.
Instead they will be asking people to set up direct debits and become long-term supporters of St John Ambulance by making a voluntary donation of an amount of their choice, for as long or as regularly as they like.
Anyone wishing to become a donor will be required to complete a simple form, which can be done on the doorstep.
Information on the work and services of St John Ambulance will be available from the fundraisers, who will be able to answer questions on anything from volunteering to first aid training in Berkshire.
St John Ambulance county executive officer, Bruce Neeves, said: "This is a local campaign and all monies raised will go direct to Berkshire St John Ambulance.
"Wesser fundraisers have just completed a similar exercise in Surrey where to date they have raised approximately £730,000.
"We see the support of local residents as being vital to the continuation of our valuable work in the community."
Kim Adrian, a fundraiser for St John Ambulance in Berkshire, added: "We depend heavily on private and corporate donations, as we receive no government funding in carrying out our first aid duties.
"By working with Wesser we are able to tell people about our charitable work, as well as raising funds, leaving our volunteers to focus on our vision that everyone who needs first aid should receive it from those around them.
"We are keen to ensure that Berkshire residents are fully informed of this campaign as the fundraisers will begin pounding the streets from June 5."
The charity said it understood that people would be wary of strangers knocking on their doors but wanted to reassure people that all its representatives had been vetted and approved.
It encouraged people to ask for identification from its fundraisers.

St John Ambulance Berkshire boasts around 500 volunteer members, who all need to be provided with uniform, medical equipment and ongoing training.
The first aiders are regular faces at local fetes and fun days and at major events which include Ascot Races, Cancer Research’s Race for Life and Madejski Stadium activities where they are always on hand to deal with the smallest graze or a life threatening emergency.