Bedford Heart Heroes exceed fundraising goal

The Bedford Heart Heroes, a group of organizations formed almost one year ago, have exceeded their goal of raising $20,000 to purchase, place, maintain and provide training for 10 automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in Bedford Township.

The group has met their goal of placing an AED in each of the Bedford public schools, in each Monroe County Sheriff’s Office deputy patrol car that serves Bedford Township and in White Park. Additional monies will be used to purchase a backup AED in case one is out of service, purchase supplies, and provide CPR/AED training.

Recently, the Lambertville Firefighters Association and the Temperance Firefighters Associations jointly donated $3000. Rod Hill, president of the Lambertville Firefighters Association, states that “this brought the community together and got the AEDs where they need to be.”

Bedford’s 3B Baseball donated $500. White Park, where they play most of their games, will receive an AED before next year’s season starts.

Since formation of the coalition in October 2010, the Heart Heroes collected proceeds from a week in December’s sales at the Bedford Lions Club Lions Den resale store, raised funds at a golf outing in July, and received many business and individual donations from the community. They have also sponsored several CPR/AED education sessions, training school personnel, school and community athletic personnel and others.

In addition, members have checked on AEDs already at organizations such as the Bedford Public Library and the Bedford Senior Center, confirming that the units are working and that staff are trained.

The Bedford Township Fire Department graciously consented to maintain an AED registry for the area, including AED locations, update the policy for the public access defibrillators and inspect them annually.

Other organizations have expressed interest in having AEDs and the Bedford Heart Heroes will assist them in obtaining them and providing training.

The Bedford Heart Heroes want to sincerely thank the Bedford Township community for their numerous contributions. No amount was too small and all the funds will be used. Now both adults and children can be saved if they experience a sudden cardiac arrest.

Rapid response to sudden cardiac arrest with CPR, access to an AED and advanced medical care saves lives. According to the American Heart Association, “early access to CPR and AED use within the first 3 to 5 minutes of a sudden cardiac arrest incident can increase the survival rate by as much as 50%.”