We love seeing businesses give back to our community.
And that’s why we felt super grateful to be there at the unveiling of one of the 5 new AED spots across the Illawarra brought together by Wests Illawarra and Heart of the Nation.
Thanks to Wests Illawarra’s ClubGRANTS program, these AEDs will be available 24/7 at key spots across the Illawarra, helping the community stay ready for sudden cardiac arrests (SCA). You can spot them in Farmborough Heights, Wongawilli, Warrawong, Fairy Meadow, and Mount Kembla. They actually form a clever heart shape on the map and the main goal is making sure they’re close when every second really counts in an emergency.
Here’s a map of all of the 5 new locations:
Greg Page, the OG “Yellow Wiggle” himself and CEO of Heart of the Nation, spoke to us at the launch [starstruck much?!], driving home the importance of having AEDs readily available.
“These devices can literally be the difference between life and death in a cardiac emergency. Thanks to Wests Illawarra, the Illawarra is now even better equipped to handle these situations,” Greg said.
We were also lucky enough to chat with Renata Garnero, Wests Illawarra’s Chief Financial Officer, who explained how Greg’s story inspired the club’s involvement.
“We have AEDs at our club and Greg’s experience showed us the importance of having them in the community. We’re proud to be part of something that directly impacts the well-being of our members and the broader community.”
We think it’s awesome too!
And we met David King from Meadows Tennis Club [one of the AED locations], “Having an AED here gives us real peace of mind. Hopefully, we’ll never need to use it, but knowing it’s there means we’re ready if an emergency happens. We’re so grateful to Heart of the Nation and Wests Illawarra for making this possible.”
Sudden Cardiac Arrest doesn’t discriminate. It can strike anyone, anytime, anywhere. The good news? You can help. Knowing how to ‘Call, Push, Shock’ [that’s call 000, perform CPR, and use an AED] could save a life in those critical first five minutes.
Thanks to Wests Illawarra and Heart of the Nation, the Illawarra community is now more equipped than ever to step in and help during a cardiac emergency.