Excerpt:
In 2018 Dogra installed a SaveStation defibrillator on the side of his home on Sable Ridge Drive in the Bank and Hunt Club area. “A lot of people, myself included, were almost scared of (defibrillators), because you’re in a life-saving situation where you don’t want to screw up. People get really intimidated by it, and I was surprised by how easy they were to use.”
Once it was installed, Dogra had a gathering to serve as an information session for neighbourhood residents and anyone interested in learning more about the defibrillator. Sergio DeFranco, a firefighter, attended the session and decided with his wife this was something they were interested in doing for their Riverview Park neighbourhood.
Dogra, part of the Hunt Club Community Association, had done community fundraising and decided to pay it forward to another neighbourhood to get a SaveStation installed. DeFranco was the beneficiary of this funding to help cover part of the device’s cost. Fundraising efforts are still in place to finish paying off the SaveStation on DeFranco’s home, and any extra funds will go to help another neighbourhood get one. You can donate and find more information on SaveStation at https://crowdfunding.savestation.ca.
“I found it challenging through the pandemic,” said DeFranco when asked how he got word out about the SaveStation on his home. “I printed about 100 flyers and my kids were awesome; they helped me during their recess time these past three weeks and we delivered them to the neighbourhood. It’s for anyone to use, 24/7.”
