Gateway Launch Event

Join us for our Launch Event in The Chapter Hall, St John’s Gate. The evening will include an introduction to St John and the three causes/projects we will be collecting for in 2020-21, with Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London, Sir Kenneth Olisa, OBE, CStJ as our guest speaker.

Launch Event Details:

You are invited to a reception to celebrate the launch of St John Gateway, to be held in the historic Chapter Hall at St John’s Gate on Tuesday 21 September 2021.

The evening will present an opportunity to learn about the many aspects of the Order of St John, demonstrating how relevant St John is to us in our everyday lives. There will be a number of ‘stands’ manned by St John volunteers for guests to discover more about the organisation’s national and international projects.

Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London, Sir Kenneth Olisa, OBE, CStJ, will be our guest speaker for the evening and will deliver an address on his own experience within St John.

Complimentary drinks and canapés will be offered throughout the evening.

About:

St John Gateway has been established to introduce those in their 20s to 40s to the work of the Order of St John. Throughout the year, members will be invited to a series of events and activities which will create opportunities for: networking and socialising with like-minded people; being involved in the fascinating humanitarian organisation that is the Order of St John; and doing something worthwhile in the form of charitable and philanthropic work. Each year, the Gateway will focus on supporting three current, key St John projects by raising both funds and awareness of all that is being done, both nationally and internationally.

About the Guest Speaker: 

Sir Kenneth Olisa, OBE, CStJ 

Born in Nottingham and educated in State schools and Cambridge University, Ken has worked at IBM and Wang after which he founded 2 technology merchant banks. His business career has included serving as the first British-born black director of a FTSE-100 company (Reuters) and on the Boards of major companies including Open Text, ENRC, Huawei (UK) and Nigeria’s Interswitch.

His charitable passions include President of London homeless charity Thames Reach (for which he received an OBE), Chair of welfare to work charity Shaw Trust, founding Chair of the Aleto Foundation, supporting future leaders from tough reality backgrounds. In the past he has served as a Governor of the Peabody Trust and a Director of the West Lambeth NHS Trust. In 2015 Her Majesty the Queen appointed Sir Ken as her Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London – the first British-born black Lord-Lieutenant in the role’s 500 year history.

He was knighted in the 2018 New Year’s Honours for services to business and philanthropy. As a boy, he joined St John Ambulance as a Cadet, and he has publicly stated what a great organisation it is and how it helped him to develop as a person.   He remains a great supporter of St John and is a Commander of the Order.  We are delighted to be able to welcome him to launch the St John Gateway.