South Shields welcomes another life-saving defibrillator to town thanks to partnership between coffee shop, WI and charity the Red Sky Foundation

A fundraising effort between Café 42 Coffee Shop, Sisters of Shields branch of the WI (Women’s Institute) and North East heart charity Red Sky Foundation has seen another piece of lie-saving equipment installed in South Shields.

The trio put an appeal together to help raise money for the new defibrillator which is now installed outside Cafe 42 Coffee Shop, in Chapter Row.

Sam Clark, who runs Cafe 42, has raised part of the money with a ‘mega raffle’.

He said: “The idea’s been in my mind since we opened as they’re such an important piece of equipment. I’d like to thank our customers who took part in our raffle and we’re already planning more fundraising ideas in the future.

"Knowing sudden cardiac arrest can happen to anyone at anytime we’re now selling raffle tickets again to contribute towards another unit and we’re keen to keep our fundraising going.”

Sisters of Shields WI branch heard about the campaign and having previously worked with the Red Sky Foundation on other defibrillator projects the pair came together to boost the funds for Sam’s idea.

Jayne Rudd, President of Sisters of Shields WI added: “By using some of our funds with the support of our members to jointly sponsor a much-needed piece of kit that could potentially save lives while also supporting a brilliant charity.”

Red Sky Foundation has worked with a number of groups across South Tyneside installing defibrillators across the borough.

Sergio Petrucci, founder of the Red Sky Foundation, said: “Sudden cardiac arrest can happen to anyone and while anyone can use a defibrillator, our sessions help allay any fears someone might have that would put them off using one.

"We’re always looking for people like the ladies of the WI and Sam to help us raise awareness of cardiac arrest and it’s fantastic to see the greater positive impact on the local area when we all work together.”

The device was installed by Boldon firm HLA Services and it is ready to help save lives in the South Shields community. The defibrillator has been registered with the emergency services so should someone call 999 in need of medical assistance it can be accessed using a 4 digit code on the cabinet.

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