To save lives the Rotary District 9510 and Heart of the Nation partnership project gets a wiggle on.

Article by President Elect Vivienne Goodenough, Rotary Club of Strathalbyn

You can’t put a value or price on the hope that a defibrillator can provide the lifesaving jolt that a cardiac arrest victim needs.

The Rotary Club of Strathalbyn discovered this in its startling reality in early 2022 when an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) that the club had purchased and placed on the outside wall of one of their members’ homes, was used in an attempt to save a life.

Unfortunately, in this instance a life could not be saved. However, the family were so grateful that they had access to an AED and the opportunity to have extra time with their loved one and the chance to attempt to save him, that they reached out to the rotary club to find a way to have a positive outcome from their tragedy.

In sharing their story they wanted to raise awareness of the importance of Defibrillators and also to encourage more to be available in all communities.

The Rotary Club of Strathalbyn then connected with Greg Page (the original yellow wiggle) to form a partnership with Rotary District 9510 and Heart of the Nation to develop a program to raise awareness of the importance of installing AEDs in the community.

The Rotary Club of Strathalbyn then connected with Greg Page (the original yellow wiggle) and with the help of District 9510 Public Image, formed a partnership with Rotary District 9510 and Heart of the Nation to develop a program to raise awareness of the importance of installing AEDs in the community.

In August 2022 the Rotary Club of Strathalbyn launched the project and a webpage was developed by Greg Page for Rotary clubs and business and community groups to make it easy for them to purchase an AED; https://www.heartofthenation.com.au/rotary9510-order

The Rotary Club of Strathalbyn with the support of the family and the community and a successful district grant have been able to purchase 10 AEDs for their community and raise awareness in not only their community but many others in District 9510. The club presents to other Rotary clubs and also community groups to give them the information and tools required to help them do the same.

To view Greg Page's presentation, please click this link; https://vimeo.com/735668937

Other Rotary clubs have taken up the challenge after presentations from the Rotary Club of Strathalbyn and Greg Page (Heart of the Nation) was recently guest speaker in Murray Bridge SA.

If you would like to know more about this project please reach out to the Rotary Club of Strathalbyn RotaryDefibProject@strathrotary.org.au and they can supply you with the information and tools to take this project out to your communities.

This is a great example of Rotary – People of Action, working together in their communities.