Raise a heartbeat appeal

14th February 2022

Raise A Heartbeat Appeal 2022

 

We are liaising with South West Ambulance Services (SWAS) to purchase a community defibrillator.

Every minute someone is in cardiac arrest, without CPR and access to a defibrillator, their chances of survival drops by up to 10%. Having a public access defibrillator (PAD) available in an emergency can play an important part in saving more lives.

Throughout 2022 we are going to be holding lots of fundraising events to raise the funds for this vital piece of equipment for the community.

 

Launch Day!!

 

Monday 14 February 2022

 

Wear something red to school - 50p clothing/headwear/hairband/footwear.

 

Handmade bracelet £1 - with small heart pendant for your child to purchase (these will be sold during the school day).

 

Hanging heart decoration 50p - Bring your heart decoration in (that will be going home next Wednesday). Parents/carers, please write your child's name on the rear and  a heartfelt message on the front. These will be going on display in the school.

We hope to kick start this appeal by spreading some OV love!

 

A big THANK YOU  to Nina Clark who has made the first donation towards our

defibrillator, here is a message from her:

 

 “My family comes with many heart conditions and we have lost several family members over the years due to cardiac arrest.  It's an important part of  machinery to have“

 

Thank you Nina!

 

Donations either private or business would be very welcome, please email orchardvale@ventrus.org.uk.

 

 

 

 

 

 

OV Raise a Heartbeat Appeal 2022

 

While watching television one evening I was listening to a father who had lost his 12-year-old son due to an unknown heart condition. I can’t imagine how difficult this must have been to lose your apparently fit and healthy child so suddenly. He then went on to raise money for schools to house defibrillators so emergency aid could be given immediately. When someone has a cardiac arrest it is so important they get emergency first aid as soon as possible. Every minute lost before help arrives cuts someone’s    chances of survival by 10%. In the last year, 2021, a defibrillator could have been used 28 times (within the EX32 postcode) in helping to save a life. Missed opportunities that we hope to reduce.

 

We have decided that, as a school, we would like to raise £5,000 to buy a community defibrillator to support not only the children and staff in our school but also our local community. This money will      purchase a community defibrillator that can be placed on the outside wall of our school. The money will also pay for the upkeep and servicing of the equipment for at least 5 years.  Our children will be writing letters to local companies to ask for donations towards our appeal.  They will also be creating leaflets to make local residents aware of the appeal and the resource that will be available to them in the future.

 

We were delighted to get a visit from Heart FM this week to publicise our appeal; so do listen out for us on the radio and on their website.

 

In school, we will be launching our appeal on Monday, 14th February with a wearing red day for        valentine’s day. We are also asking you to write a heartfelt message to your child on the heart tags that have been sent home this week. These will be displayed for your child to read. There will also be heart bracelets available. Our aim is to raise as much as possible so please try and send your child to school with a few pounds on Monday for a very worthwhile cause, this can be in cash or via BACS (Orchard Vale School PTA, account number - 60071927, sort code - 20 04 59).

 

There will be other fundraising opportunities throughout the year, including an activity day on Thursday, 23rd June and we are hoping to do a school camp out on the school field. I am really excited about this appeal and I hope we raise the funds quickly so we can get the defibrillator in place and working as soon as we can.

 

Thank you for all your support, we really do appreciate it.

 

Fiona Pearce

Headteacher