Community Defib Connected!

Back in 2018 I challenged the Beavers, Cubs and Scouts of 1st Highworth to raise funds for us to purchase and install a Community Defibrillator to be placed at our Scout HQ in Eastrop.

The challenge was set, and the Scout Group’s sections responded brilliantly.

Our Beavers held coffee mornings with raffles. Some of them helped to make cakes or biscuits and some had pen and paper poised to take customer orders.  The Beavers waited on each table to fulfil their customer’s needs while the leaders looked after the hot water and made the drinks.

One of our Cub Packs ran a sponsored walk whilst the other decided to treat(?) residents of Eastrop by Carol Singing just before Christmas 2019.  They found the residents very generous and managed to boost our funds by quite a bit.  Thank you!

Our Scouts spent time doing odd jobs for family and friends whilst the other Troop baked biscuits and cakes and sold them on the podium.

Along with some smaller donations we secured a larger donation from WrdeUp Music Festival – for which we were really grateful.

Our largest donation came from the Round Table who had asked us if we would like to be involved in helping Santa meet people at the Orbital Retail Park.  Our task was to hand out sweets to youngsters passing, normally in return for some small monetary donation to the Round Table’s collecting box, though sometimes the donation came after the sweets were handed out.  The youngsters (and some leaders) who helped enjoyed a few sweets too.

We were just preparing to purchase our equipment as lockdown happened so this has all been delayed a bit.  However we have manged to purchase an external defib and a locked cabinet which were installed outside the Scout Hut in January.  Thanks to the generosity of Highworth people and organisations we were also able to buy a training defib and a manikin so that we can train our members in using a defib wherever they are, should they need to.

As is appropriate for a defib located at the Scout Hut, the machine we have purchased can be used on both adults and children at the flip of a switch.

Let’s hope that no-one will ever use it but at least the residents of Eastrop can be rest-assured that there is a defib nearby.

I am proud of what the Beavers Cubs and Scouts have achieved, and really grateful for the support of the people and organisations of Highworth.   

Thank you.

Note

1. According to The Resuscitation Council, using a defibrillator within three minutes of a cardiac arrest can improve a person’s chance of survival as much as 70%.
2. In Highworth, as well as the Scout Hut in Eastrop, publicly accessible defibs are located:-
   • Outside The Council Rooms in Gilberts Lane
   • At The old Police Station, Newburgh Place (near Westrop School)
   • At the Community Centre in The Dormers
   • At The Plough Public House, Lechlade Road.