Birstall Rotary Club unveil new defibrillator at St Saviour’s Church

The Rotary Club of Birstall Luddites have funded the purchase of the defibrillator at St Saviour’s Church in Brownhill, Birstall, following a successful ‘Santa Sleigh Collection’ last December, which raised £4,000.

This defibrillator is the third life-saving device that the club has funded, with two others already installed at Batley Community Centre on Upper Commercial Street and Howden Clough Community Centre on Leeds Road.

Talking about why the club decided to fund the defibrillator, Jeremy Parkinson, public relations officer at the Birstall Rotary Club, said: “We felt it was important to install the defibrillator here, at St Saviours, after a church member was taken poorly in December 2021.

“Thankfully, they recovered but it made the church realise that they didn’t have anything to help if needed, so started fundraising for a defibrillator.

“Some of our members attended this church and told us about this so we decided to fund the purchase, which cost £1,000.

“This is our way of giving back to the community.”

Stephen Gooder, president of the club added: “There wasn’t a defibrillator in this immediate area so we felt it was important to install one.

“These machines are so vital. You can’t have enough of them.

“A big thank you to all the people in Birstall and Batley who have supported us and contributed to our fundraising efforts, especially with the Santa Sleigh collection.

“We are extremely grateful to everyone.”

To keep the defibrillator in top condition, the church on Brookroyd Lane has raised funds for the ongoing maintenance of the defibrillator and its installation through coffee mornings and raffles.

Rev Lesley-Anne Mattacks, vicar at St Saviour’s Church said: “It is all set up and ready to be used and so far it has started off well. The number has been given out three times but luckily it hasn’t needed to be used yet.

“I want people to know that this defibrillator is not just for us, it is for the community and is there if anyone needs it.

“Thank you to the Rotary Club for their support and to the people of Birstall who have supported the coffee mornings and raffles.”

The Rotary Club of Birstall Luddites have also supported the Kirkwood Hospice and the Yorkshire Air Ambulance this year with the funds raised from the Santa Sleigh Collection.

The Rotary Club is an international organisation which was founded in 1905 in America - There are now thousands of clubs across the world.

The club is a meeting of like-minded people who work together to help the community and promote goodwill and peace.

For more information about the Rotary Club of Birstall Luddites, visit https://www.rotary-ribi.org/clubs/homepage.php?ClubID=1657