Beehive project funds life-saving kit for schools
THREE city primary schools have installed life-saving defibrillators thanks to a sweet fundraising drive by City Building.
The construction firm sold honey made in its own beehives to raise cash for Sunnyside Primary in Craigton, Hazelwood School, which caters for pupils with sensory impairment and complex needs, in Bellahouston, and St Bernard’s Primary in Nitshill.
City Building adopted three beehives in 2017 as part of its ongoing commitment to protecting the environment.
The hives are located in the grounds of City Building’s manufacturing facility RSBi and its new apprentice college in Springburn.
The building is set to be one of the greenest of its kind when it is completed later in the summer. Here, the bees have ample trees and flowers to forage to produce honey.
After sales of the honey raised £225,000, the
Glasgow construction firm partnered with Unite to buy the life-saving equipment.
There have been increasing calls for defibrillators to be located in all schools.
Across the UK, Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) kills more than 60,000 people annually, including 270 children in schools. It is estimated around 20% of cardiac arrests occur in the community. Defibrillators are used to treat cardiac arrest by providing a high energy electric shock to the heart.
The chances of surviving cardiac arrest increase from less than 10% to around 50 to 70% if a defibrillator is deployed within the first three to five minutes.
It is estimated that 20 of all cardiac arrests occur in the community.
Alan Burns, executive director of City Building, said: “Having access to a defibrillator can be the difference between life and death for someone who has a heart attack.
“I am incredibly proud that the money we have raised from our honey is being used to ensure schools have this life-saving equipment, and
I’d like to thank everyone who bought our honey as well as Unite for joining with us to fund the purchase of the three defibrillators.”
Thomas Glavin, chair of CB’s Joint Trade Union Committee and convenor of the Unite staff, said: “Members across Unite are delighted to donate to this cause. We are seeing more community spaces installing defibrillators which can be life-saving for people in need.
“The numbers speak from themselves. Having readily available defibrillators increases the survival rate from a cardiac arrest sixfold, so we are very proud to help contribute to this vital community asset.”
Teacher Katie Ewen, from Sunnyside Primary School, added: “This has been a tremendous group effort between local b)usinesses, school pupils and their families, and our community and we are all thankful to have now secured a defibrillator.
“This life-saving piece of equipment is vital to community safety, greatly increasing the chance of survival from a cardiac arrest. Thank you to everyone involved.”