Lower Wyke Moravian Church pride ourselves on being a church that works with and for the local community. We have several events in place run by volunteers and groups which reach out to the local community offering entertainment and services. On the third Friday of the month we host a Community Lunch open to people in the area to enjoy a very reasonably priced two course meal and good company. On the first Friday of the month the Greenfingers Plant Swap meets offering coffee, cake and plant advice and the opportunity to pick up an unusual plant or two. The Sunday School building is the venue for these events which also hosts a Yoga class on Mondays and the Adventurers Youth Group on Friday evenings in school term time as well as our own events as and when throughout the year. As you might imagine we receive quite a high footfall past our Sunday School building including walkers and people visiting the village out of an interest in the local countryside. At our recent church meeting we made the decision to consider the purchase of a Community Access Public Defibrillator (cPAD) to be located on the outer wall of the Sunday School building. We feel that the community groups and local residents might benefit in the long term from the access to a public defibrillator, especially noting the age range of many residents and of the participants of these events.

The type of defibrillator we are considering would be in a locked cabinet. Access would be via a code which would be provided by the Ambulance Service once a 999 call had been made when helping a person suspected of suffering a heart related collapse. This cabinet helps to keep the unit secure from vandalism and misuse and ensures that the user receives the best possible advice from professionals whilst in use. Yorkshire Ambulance Service have provided over 1000 of these units throughout Yorkshire and statistics show that where defibrillators are used promptly there is a significant increase in the chance of an individual’s survival. Used within 3 mins – 70% survival rate; 5 mins – 50% survival rate; 8 mins – 20% survival rate. The response time for a paramedic and/or ambulance to a cardiac arrest should be within 8 minutes; therefore prompt action will give the casualty a greater chance of survival.

We see this unit as being of great benefit to the local community and would hope that you, as the potential users of it, would like to come on board in terms of assisting in some small way towards its funding. Funding is not dependent upon outside contributions but if you would like to make a small donation go to www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/lowerwyke-cpad and offer what you feel you are able. The fund raising page is in my name, as the minister, but the Moravian Church in Lower Wyke is a registered charity (251211) and all funding raised will go directly to the church. If you would like to discuss the project in more detail, please contact me directly at jane.dixon@moravian.org.uk and I will try to answer your questions.

Let’s help Lower Wyke Moravian Church save lives as well as souls…

Rev Jane Dixon