Defibrillator fundraising - what is available and how?

Defibrillators save lives everyday across the UK. Yearly, 30,000 people suffer from a sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) and they can affect anyone from children to adults, male to female and across all ethnicities. As SCA’s occur completely out of the blue and often without any prior warning, victims can fall ill across a range of environments from school to work, at the shops or whilst playing sports.

Unfortunately, if victims aren’t treated quickly enough, SCA’s are more often than not fatal however, if the use of a defibrillator is deployed quickly enough, survival rates have been seen to drastically increase with thousands of lives being saved every year.

There is a huge drive to have as many defibrillators as possible installed across the country in workplaces, sports facilities, educational buildings and much more. In order to this however, there is a cost that is involved, this is where fundraising helps a great deal.

Of course there are many ways to fundraise money in order to raise as much money as possible. Events such as non-uniform days, sponsored sporting events (running, swimming, cycling etc), fancy dress, penalty shoot outs, bake off, bring your pet to work and even a PJ day are great ways to earn money in a fun way whilst raising the profile around why you are wanting a defibrillator.

In order to become heart safe more quickly however, you can also apply for grants from companies such as The National Lottery and Aviva which can help to fund devices such as defibrillators and additional accessories so that as many places across the country are equipped with life saving care.

Another simple way to fundraise for a defibrillator is to also visit easyfundraising.org. Since 2005, they have helped thousands of great causes raise money by shopping online, raising so far over £28 million. Using this website is free and an easy way to get money raised towards a defibrillator. With over three thousand retailers on their website, from ebay to Argos and John Lewis to Booking.com, money can be easily raised, helping you get a defibrillator that much quicker.

As well as companies helping out, there are trusts that have been established whose aim is to help fundraise so that every community is protected should anyone fall ill due to a SCA. As an example, Community Heartbeat has an aim to make defibrillators as common as fire extinguishers and are aiming to do so by helping to fundraise through online packs and donation pages.

It is important to remember that only 1% who suffer a SCA survive outside of hospital due to the lack of knowledge and correct equipment available to people. Therefore, the more people who know about defibrillators and how they work, ultimately means the more lives that can be saved.