Cakes and coffee are helping to save lives
Caring cafe plays its part in defibrilator campaign
Cakes, sweeties and coffee have helped bring a community defibrilator to Linwood.
Linda Smith, who runs the Bean Grinder cafe in the town’s On-X Leisure centre, has been fundraising for the last two years.
And she linked up with Helen Moir from Active Communities to use the fundraising to buy a community defibrilator for outside the Spar shop on Clippens Road.
Linda said: “We bought cakes at Hallowe’en and Easter and raffled them off to customers. I bought plain cupcakes and decorations and set up a table for children to make a donation and decorate one themselves.
“We have a jar of sweets in the shop and ask for donations, and we also get donations for recycled coffee grounds that we give away. All the tips go to charity.
“We’ve been fundraising for a couple of years now and have given money to St Vincent’s and Crohns Disease charities in the past.”
Linda, who with her partner Joe Faiz also runs the cafe in the Lagoon leisure centre, said supporting the local community is close to her heart.
She said: “I just think you should give something back. We’re always doing something for local charities. I make money from Linwood customers.
“If it just saves one person’s life, how amazing would that be?”
The cost for the defibrilator was £2,000 which was paid for by Linda and her staff’s fundraising, her personal donations and funding from Active Communities.
Helen said: “It’s going to be very important to have something easy to access, especially when everybody in the community doesn’t know what to do in the hours after a heart attack.
“It can increase the chance of surviving a heart attack when you have a defibrilator.
“The Linwood community has always been supportive. This is in such a central location near the schools and the shop – it’s in the heart of the community.”
The cabinet containing the defibrilator will have a code for the community to use in case of an emergency 24 hours a day.
And a special training event has been organised tomorrow in Linwood Parish Church.
The event, run by the Scottish Ambulance Service will feature advice on how to use the defibrilator.
The session runs from 1.30pm till 2.30pm and is open to all in the community who would like to attend.
Linda would like to thank Rhona MacKinnon, of WEL Medical Ltd, for supplying the defibrillator.
I just think you should give something back. We’re always doing something for local charities Linda Smith