Soldier On says a new life-saving defibrillator donated by The Personnel Group in Canberra will provide extra peace of mind for staff, volunteers and defence personnel, veterans and their families.

The donation was possible after fundraising by The Personnel Group staff.

“The Personnel Group has an active Health and Wellbeing program that focuses on mental and physical health and also community participation,” CEO Tracey Fraser said.

“We also wanted to incorporate a community aspect, as during lockdowns we were not able to participate in our annual community volunteering day.

“So we ran a defibrillator competition, a fundraising challenge where sites raised money in a variety of ways to be able to purchase defibrillator machines for the community.

“Across our organisation, staff raised close to $6,000 and this enabled us to donate three defibrillator machines within the community, which were chosen by our sites that raised the most money – Canberra, Wodonga and Bendigo,” Ms Fraser said.

The defibrillator was presented today to Soldier On’s local social connections programs officer, Josie Rickard, by The Personnel Group’s ACT area manager, Cate Johnson.

“We are very grateful to The Personnel Group for their donation as having access to a defibrillator improves the safety of our Solder On family and the wider community who have access to our facilities,” Ms Rickard said.

“Minutes matter in a cardiac arrest and this defibrillator could better someone’s chances of survival.

“We hope the defibrillator will never have to be used but having it available means so much to everyone at Soldier On because it means we will be better equipped in the case of an emergency,” she said.

The defibrillator will be located at the Robert Poate Reintegration and Recovery Centre, Soldier On’s headquarters, which also hosts drop-in and counselling services, as well as community events.

“Soldier On has been providing practical and emotional assistance to people who have and are currently serving in the Australian Defence Force, and their families for a decade, and The Personnel Group wanted to acknowledge that in a meaningful, practical way,” Ms Johnson said.

“Soldier On’s vision and values definitely align with The Personnel Group’s and we are proud to be able to acknowledge that.”

Defibrillators are used to restore a normal heartbeat by sending an electric pulse or shock to the heart when someone suffers a sudden cardiac arrest.

Canberra Daily would love to hear from you about a story idea in the Canberra and surrounding region. Click here to submit a news tip.