Raise a heartbeat launch - Valentines Day - 14th February 2022
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.
We launched our appeal on Monday, 14th February with a wearing red day for valentine’s day. We asked parents to write a heartfelt message to their children on the heart tags. These will be displayed for your child to read. Children were able to buy heart bracelets.
If anyone would like to make a contributions they can send 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