A Hartford primary school has been able to purchase lifesaving equipment after a housebuilder stepped in to help boost their fundraising efforts. Redrow Homes donated the final £400 needed to the Young PTA at St Wilfrid’s Catholic Primary School so they could buy a defibrillator. The Young PTA group, made up of children between the ages of five and 11 with a small additional group of youth leaders aged 11-14, was set up four years ago to raise funds for a variety of causes. This year’s chosen cause is The Oliver King Foundation, founded after the death of 12 year-old Oliver King from Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome - a hidden heart condition which kills 12 young people a week. Headteacher Anne Weir said: “The school had a visit from Oliver’s dad, Mark, who told us all about the condition and the fact that Oliver had suffered a cardiac arrest while taking part in a swimming race. After Mark’s talk, the children voted unanimously to raise funds to provide a defibrillator to the school which previously didn’t have one at all. “The children were fantastic at their own fundraising and had raised £600, but the funds fell short of the target so the donation from Redrow has meant that we’ve been able to purchase a defibrillator that could save the life of a child or any adults at the school. “Once we’d bought the defibrillator we had a special assembly at school and invited Mark along so he could see the results of Oliver’s legacy.” Area sales manager for Redrow (NW), Caroline Thompson Jones, also attended the special assembly and added: “We’ve been helping out various causes in Hartford for a couple of years now and when the school contacted us about this, we knew we had to help. “It’s great to know that we could boost the sterling fundraising efforts of the children at the school and now there is equipment on site that could actually save a life.” Redrow is no stranger to having defibrillators on site, having installed 110 of them across its own housing developments across the UK, as well as in the company’s divisional offices, giving staff, contractors and the local community access to the equipment in the event of a medical emergency. The company was presented with the Outstanding Organisation Award at the North West Construction Safety Group (NWCSG) Health and Safety Awards 2016.
Redrow Homes donated the final £400 of a £1,000 fundraising effort by the Young PTA at St Wilfrid’s Catholic Primary School in Hartford to buy a defibrillator. The school has been hit hard with recent cuts and is struggling to keep up with demand. The Oliver King Foundation, was chosen as its cause this year following a visit from the father of 12 year-old Oliver King who died from Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome while taking part in a swimming race.