Lubrizol staff give their hearts to the community
Staff at a Derbyshire company proved they were all heart after celebrating Valentine’s Day by raising money for charity and helping share their lifesaving skills with members of the community.
Lubrizol, in Hazelwood, has nominated the British Heart Foundation (BHF) as its chosen charity and employees carried out a number of fundraising events to mark February 14th, kicking off the firm’s second year of support and partnership.
The company restaurant, run by the Wilson Vale Catering team, raffled off a giant Mars Bar heart cake which raised £51 and staff also made a £1 donation to wear red for the day.
Meanwhile, four members of staff helped train villagers in Duffield in potentially life-saving techniques, including how to perform hands only CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) - skills that could be the difference between life and death in a crisis.
The event was held after villagers raised money towards the cost of a new public access defibrillator (PAD), which has been situated in front of a carpet shop in Meadow Vale.
The British Heart Foundation donated £600 towards the cost of the life-saving machine and around 40 members of the community attended the course teaching them how to save lives.
The BHF provided a Call Push Rescue training kit for the course along with several inflatable manikins which can be used to learn CPR with rescue breaths and hands-only CPR.
While staff from Lubrizol, who are all trained first aiders, provided a training defibrillator so that residents could learn how to use the newly-installed piece of kit.
Paula Scaife, Derbyshire Fundraising Manager at the BHF, said: “I’m very grateful to the support I had from the Lubrizol staff – it’s quite tricky to get round a large group single-handedly and so having some volunteers for support was incredibly useful.
“More importantly, the training defib meant that people living in Duffield are likely to feel confident enough to use the new equipment.
“They do come with clear instructions, but in a recent survey, three quarters of people said they wouldn’t feel confident enough to use one if they saw someone having a cardiac arrest.
“Training sessions like this are the only way to change this fear and donations, like the ones we receive from Lubrizol, allow us to continue with our commitment to saving lives.”
Last month, Lubrizol handed over a cheque for £10,515 to the British Heart Foundation after staging a series of fundraising activities over the past 12 months.
The company has agreed to support the charity for two years and staff have undertaken sponsored quizzes, bakes and bike rides, staged events including golf days and retro gaming contests and even published their own calendar.