THE largest item on the St. John Ambulance Brigade's Christmas list, a new ambulance, is too big to fit into Santa's sleigh.

So, if your company is looking to do the kind of good deed that lasts for years and for which everyone in the community benefits, now would be a good time to stand in for Santa. The brigade would be enormously grateful, and so would everyone who attends an outdoor event in Bermuda.

The Brigade has recently benefited from the generosity of three local firms: ACE and XL Capital funded the purchase of a mobile clinic and ambulance, call sign "Medic 9". Bacardi paid for some of the equipment inside the vehicle, which chairman of the Council of the St. John Ambulance Brigade, Tony Goodfellow, humorously refers to as "the beast", on account of its size.

"We were hugely grateful for the help of these companies, who between them made the mobile clinic possible," Mr. Goodfellow said. "We would be just as grateful if other companies stepped forward to help us in our community support programme."

But, he said the Brigade was looking at alternative methods of financing itself, rather than continually relying on the extended goodwill of the community and its fund-raising efforts.

One possible future would see the Brigade's property at Dunrossil House, on Point Finger Road in Paget, put to a different use.

"One idea we have had - and it is just an idea at this point - would be to build a second storey above the garage at the rear of the property that houses our ambulances," Mr. Goodfellow explained. "We could then rent out the main building, which runs to about 5,000 square feet, and use the proceeds to cover the basic operating costs of the Brigade."

Mr. Goodfellow stressed that he and the Council were "thinking out loud" at this stage about ways of streamlining the organisation's finances. Like so many of Bermuda's community-based organisations, the Brigade maintains only a tiny staff and relies on the goodwill of 40 volunteers. Unlike other organisations, however, the Brigade is legally necessary for the smooth working of outdoor events and, in a greater sense, the community itself.

The law requires first-aid assistance to be in attendance at every outdoor event in Bermuda, and the Brigade is the main, if not the only, organisation able to provide that service. It attends more than 325 events every year. Without the St. John Ambulance volunteers, most outdoor sporting events could not, by law, be held. So the finances of the Brigade need to be put on an even footing, for the good of the community.

Government helps, with an annual grant of $30,000. The Brigade funds the balance from public donations. It charges for the first-aid training that it provides to hotels and other organisations, whose staff are taught various techniques such as CPR and defibrillation.

Yet at the heart of the Brigade's services are its volunteers, the local men and women - some of whom are medical staff, others of whom are drawn from right across the community.

"Our volunteers are exposed to degrees of danger," said Lt. Col Eugene Raynor, the commissioner of the Brigade. "Say someone is injured in a fight. The person goes down, and one of our teams comes to his rescue. The other combatant may still want to fight on, and we can get caught in the middle."

Franze Egenolf, deputy commissioner, agreed: "It's the same at outdoor events, such as motorsports. We're right in the middle of it. The event will usually be stopped if there is an accident requiring our help, but sometimes it doesn't work that way. Our volunteers are out there, regardless, and that makes them very special people."

Brigade volunteers found themselves in harm's way at a notorious football game a few weeks ago, when thugs roamed the ground with machetes and other weapons.

"Those football hooligans went by our ambulance on their way out of the ground," said Col. Raynor. "One of our volunteers saw a machete in a man's hands at very close range. Others were walking by with baseball bats. So the dedication of our volunteers goes with the exposure to danger. The liability is ever-present."

Despite the fact that they are volunteers, their service can be taken for granted, as one team found out at a recent motocross event. Attending one casualty, they were criticised by a parent for not immediately attending to their child, who had been in an accident. Harsh words were spoken before the parent was made aware of the error.

"That was a misunderstanding. People have to be aware that, where accidents are concerned, it's first-come first- served," said Col. Raynor.

Not all Brigade activity is quite so fraught. Day to day, the organisation quietly goes about doing more than its share for the community.

Jacqueline Browne, the Brigade's executive director, points out that volunteers contribute more than 4,000 hours of service every year.

"Of our 40 volunteers, about 25 are active at any time," she said. "They're not all medical personnel, although they all receive training in first aid. We have gained one or two new people since September, but would we like more volunteers? Yes, we would."

Working for the Brigade can count as an alternative to service in the Bermuda Regiment, but at present, volunteers must complete a year's service with the Brigade before the Regiment will consider a deferral. It's not a soft option; volunteers must show that they mean business with the Brigade and take their responsibilities seriously and consistently.

The Brigade is always busy, it seems.

"On a peak weekend, such as occurred two or three times in November, we will attend five events in a day, most of which were being held simultaneously. It can be quite a challenge," said Ms Browne.

At the regular Monday night meetings, crew sheets are prepared and rosters worked out. If necessary, Ms Browne or her assistant, Shirley Outerbridge, a sister member of the Order of St. John, will call volunteers to beef up the roster in busy periods.

"We have become so much a part of the fabric of Bermuda life, that people expect us to be present at every event," Ms Browne said. "But in truth, we are a volunteer organisation and can only do so much, so we are very, very grateful to the volunteers who come forward and give of their time."

A cadet programme encourages youngsters to join in and help out and teaches rudimentary and more advanced first aid to children and teenagers, as an after-school programme. For those who might be considering a medical career, the Brigade is a useful point of entry into the continuum of care.

"It's good for the kids," said Mr. Goodfellow. "It can be something for them to get their teeth into. When they're on duty, they're on duty."

Some volunteers like to observe at the beginning, but they receive the training, and most go on to volunteer for years.

"We have a range of duties where assistance from volunteers would be very helpful for those who would prefer to work indoors," Ms Browne said. "Consistent administrative assistance would have a major impact at this time," Col. Raynor added.

The Order of St. John had its beginnings more than 1,300 years ago. Today it is the oldest existing Order of Chivalry and the oldest surviving charitable organisation in the world.

The earliest devotees of the Order built a hostel in Jerusalem for Christians making the long pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Claimed by both Moslems and Christians, the city was never secure for either, after the fanatical Caliph el Hakim sacked and burned all the Christian buildings in the city.

When the small Italian republic of Amalfi purchased and was charged with the responsibility of rebuilding the hostel, Benedictine monks came to run the hospital, adopting the emblem of the Republic of Amalfi: a white, eight-pointed cross.

During the 11th-century Crusades, an Order of Hospitallers was formed, and after the purchase of the ancient monastery of St. John the Baptist, the name of St., John became inextricably linked with the order, whose motto, then as now, was "In Service of Mankind".

Those looking to make New Year's Resolutions could do a lot worse than to volunteer a small piece of their time or their capital for the Brigade. In return, they would receive first aid training that - who knows - might one day enable them to save the life of a loved one.