Campaign for life-saving equipment is launched
A FUNDRAISING campaign has been launched to install life-saving equipment in Carmarthen town centre.
The aim is to raise £1,000 to buy a defibrillator for Jackson’s Square and the effort is being led by Sloppy Joes Streetfood, based in the square.
Owners Gary and Kristin Ridley have kick-started the project and hope people will dig deep help make the campaign successful.
A Gofundme page dubbed Saving Lives in Jackson’s Square has been set up where people can donate online.
A series of first-aid training sessions are also being held for local businesses, with the first being held on February 21 and 28 at Sloppy Joes.
Kristin said: “We are aiming to raise £1,000 to buy a defibrillator to place in the square for the local businesses and community to use.
“The square is a perfect place for this very important life-saving piece of equipment to be housed as it’s a very communal area with a lot of regular footfall.
“It is easily accessible from many parts of town and is a thoroughfare from King Street at the top of the town, down to John Street and the bottom end of town.
“With the support of Carmarthen Bid (Business Improvement District), we will be hosting first-aid courses, including how to use the defibrillator at our restaurant and inviting local businesses to join us.
“We would be very grateful if people can put just a little in the Gofundme pot to help us achieve this goal.”
So far more than £150 has been pledged, with £100 of that from Sloppy Joes’ egg suppliers Fforest Isaf Farm Eggs, based near Kidwelly.
Speaking about the importance of a defibrillator in the square, Gary said: “I used to work at the National Botanic Garden of Wales and had training there on how to use a defibrillator.
“We just thought it would be ideal to have one in this part of town, as people do walk through this area a lot to get to either end of town, plus of course having something for the businesses to get access to should something happen.”
Gary and Kristin opened the twostorey restaurant in Jackson’s Square 12 months ago after running their hugely successful takeaway van in the town centre.
Kristin added: “Footfall has really grown in the square and we felt having life-saving equipment like the defibrillator attached to the wall of our restaurant would be a huge benefit to the community.”
The first-aid sessions, which are open to local businesses, can be booked by emailing George Reid at Carmarthen Bid on carmarthentownbid@gmail.com or calling 07974 191641.
The Gofundme page for the defibrillator fundraising campaign is at www.gofundme.com/f/savinglives-in-jacksons-square