Three Glasgow schools to benefit from lifesaving equipment after fundraising drive
City Building, one of Scotland’s leading construction firms, is buzzing after sales of its honey helped to fund the installation of defibrillators at three Glasgow schools.
The business joined with Unite union to acquire the lifesaving equipment for three Glasgow primary schools: Sunnyside Primary, in the Craigend area of the city; Hazelwood School, in Bellahouston, which caters for pupils with sensory impairment and complex needs; and St Bernard’s Primary, located in Nitshill.
City Building adopted three beehives in 2017 as part of its ongoing commitment to protecting the environment. The hives are located in the grounds of RSBi and its new apprentice college , which is set to be one of the greenest buildings of its kind when it is completed this summer, where the bees have ample trees and flowers to forage to produce honey.
After sales of the honey from amongst its workforce raised £225, the Glasgow construction firm partnered with Unite to buy defibrillators for local schools.
There have been increasing calls for defibrillators to be located in all schools. Across the UK Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) kills more than 60,000 people annually including 270 children in schools.
Defibrillators are used to treat cardiac arrest by providing a high energy electric shock to the heart. The chances of surviving cardiac arrest increase to 50-70% if a defibrillator is deployed within the first three to five minutes compared with less than 10% without a defibrillator.
It is estimated that 20% of all cardiac arrests occur in the community.
Alan Burns, executive director, City Building, said: “Having access to a defibrillator can be the difference between life and death for someone who has a heart attack. I am incredibly proud that the money we have raised from our honey is being used to ensure schools have this lifesaving equipment, and I’d like to thank everyone who bought our honey as well as Unite for joining with us to fund the purchase of the three defibrillators.”
Thomas Glavin, Chair of CB’s Joint Trade Union Committee and Convenor of the Unite staff said: “Member across Unite are delighted to donate to this cause. We are seeing more community spaces installing defibrillators which can be life saving for people in need.
“The numbers speak from themselves that having readily available defibrillators increases the survival rate from a cardiac arrest six-fold, so we are very proud to help contribute to this vital community asset.”
Local teacher, Ms Katie Ewen from Sunnyside Primary School said:
“I would like to thank City Building for their generous donation to our defibrillator fund. This has been a tremendous group effort between local businesses, school pupils and their families, and our local community and we are all thankful to have now secured a defibrillator. This life-saving piece of equipment is vital to community safety, greatly increasing the chance of survival from a cardiac arrest. Thank you to everyone involved.”
City Building and Unite each paid half of the costs of the defibrillators.
