Duo’s hard work for community life-saving equipment pays off
A PAIR of running friends have completed their fundraising campaign to install a community defibrillator.
Baxenden residents Jennifer Robbins and Kate McLoughlin have been working since April to raise £1,500 for the lifesaving equipment.
The duo, who became friends when their children joined Baxenden St John’s CE Primary School, ran their first ever 10km race in Blackpool as part of their efforts and put collection boxes around Baxenden.
Now, despite a series of problems in finding the perfect location for the village’s first defibrillator, the pair’s hard work has finally paid off and the defibrillator has a home at the local village club.
Jennifer said: “The brilliant news is we have raised the £1,548 required for the heated locked box and the defibrillator which is the same one that the ambulance service use. The Baxenden Village Club have also kindly agreed for the defibrillator to be fixed to their external wall. We have two electricians that have kindly volunteered to put this up for us too.”
She added: “A massive thank you to all of you who have donated to this worthy cause.”
A BAXENDEN Church will be staging a weekend of free community events.
Baxenden St John Church will be hosting a Ceilidh - Gaelic for ‘gathering’ - in the church on Friday, September 9.
All the family can come and enjoy it and there will be a band and a caller, who will talk participants through every step of every dance, which starts at 7pm. There will be refreshments with a vegetarian option. If you want to attend, contact either 01254 396351 or 07984 508945.
A community fete will take place, on St John’s school field, at 12noon on Saturday, September 10. Attractions will include a bouncy castle, Punch and Judy, tug-o-war between local Pub and Club teams competing for the coveted Bash Tug Trophy. There will be games and races for anybody to enter, craft tents, model building tent, and many other attractions.
Everybody is invited to St Johns family service in church on Sunday, September 11, at 10.15am, to give feedback and enjoy refreshments.
Organisers are hoping that this could become an annual event, and could become ‘bigger and better’ year upon year.