A local charity founded after a man’s sudden death is still going strong 18 years later, and recently donating its 95th defibrillator to a Bushey play centre.
On Wednesday, September 20, Wayne’s Fund founder Glyn Pope and his wife Alison visited Parents Paradise at Greatham Road Industrial Centre, where they gave staff the portable life-saving item to have on the site’s premises.
It’s one of many defibrillators Glyn’s family has donated to public spaces all across the Hertfordshire area, following the unexpected death of his 30-year-old brother Wayne in 2005.
Glyn and Wayne’s father John spoke to BUSHEYnews about the work the charity has carried out since then.
He said: “Initially, the fund’s role was just to get the defibrillators to schools. When we offered round the first free to them, they turned them down. They were frightened of them. So, we started doing talks about why they’re so important. Since then, it’s really grown, even beyond schools.
“We’ve been really lucky and fortunate to have had so much support. It is absolutely essential to have defibrillators in public spaces.”
Parents Paradise’s owners Lyn and Wendy said: “We have been campaigning for some time now to get a defibrillator in place at Parents Paradise.
“We welcome hundreds of people through our doors and as you can imagine they vary in age from babies right up to grandparent age.
“We are comforted to know if the worse happens when someone is visiting us, we are equipped to help them as best we can.”
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