Eccleshall Community First Responders

2008 Winter Ball raises £3000

Eccleshall First Responders appear in public out of uniform

On Saturday 23rd February 112 revellers came together at Baden Hall for the third annual mid-winter ball in support of Eccleshall Community First Responders.

An ex London double decker route master ferried the party goers to and from the venue just outside Eccleshall.

Those who attended enjoyed welcome drinks, a three course meal and dancing until 1:00am to the Breeze Band.

The purpose of the ball is to raise funds for the First Responders who are all volunteers and receive no funding from central sources.

An auction during the evening raised £1000 by selling a child's quad bike donated by Mr & Mrs Birchall of Woodseaves and a track day at Silverstone Donated by Mr Stacey of Eccleshall.

The raffle, which had prizes donated by local businesses and individuals, raised £480.

Both of these contributed to the total of £3,100 raised from the night.

Organiser Mrs Jan Watson said "It was a brilliant night enjoyed by all. The evening ended with a rendition of Cliff Richard's Summer Holiday as the party goers were driven home on the bus"

The money raised will be used to by new equipment and to cover running costs for the Eccleshall group over the next 12 months.

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Eccleshall CFRs receive community grant from O2

responders Eccleshall CFRs have been granted £1000 from the "02 Its Your Community" award scheme. The money will be used specifically to by communications equipment for the new vehicle. That will include a new mobile phone, fitted hands free kit, satellite navigation system and map reading lights.
For full details of the award please visit the O2 Its your Community website by clicking on the link.

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Eccleshall CFRs win cash award from Midlands Co-op

Midlands Co-operative Society has provided the Group with a Community Dividend grant of £1,150 to purchase personal protection equipment including safety helmets, boots and Hi Visibility wear.
The Making a Difference Community Dividend fund guarantees that a percentage of Midlands Co-op’s trading profit is returned to local communities in its trading area.

For full details of the story please visit the Midlands co-op website by clicking on this link

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ECFRS Update

At the beginning of 2007, Eccleshall Community First Responders reported that they had three aims they were hoping to achieve over the following 12 months. Now, 8 months on, seems a good time to update our supporters.

Firstly we have three new volunteers undergoing training with Staffordshire Ambulance Service. If all pass their exams, they should be ready to respond early in 2008.
We have also successfully launched the supporters committee who are busily fund raising and organising events on our behalf and have recently successfully completed our registered charity application.

Secondly, thanks to the generosity of the people, organisations and businesses of Eccleshall, we have raised enough money to buy two extremely important pieces of new equipment.

We now carry in our vehicle an Aspirator which is a portable suction device used to clear the upper airway of a patient, also a Lucas device (Commonly referred to as a “Thumper”) which gives automated chest compressions to a patient suffering from cardiac arrest.

First Responder Alison Edwards demonstrates the newly acquired thumper and aspirator at the recent Eccleshall Show

Our third and final aim was to replace our 11 year old response vehicle, hopefully with a small 4x4. Our current response vehicle is beginning to show its age and is starting to become a sap on our finances. Responding in a rural area such as Eccleshall and surrounding hamlets means that we need a reliable and rugged vehicle capable of carrying our equipment over most types of ground. This is extremely important to us when responding summer and winter. It is hoped that we should be in a position to change our vehicle by the New Year. However we are still seeking help and sponsorship from the local business community to help us do this.

The scheme still needs your help in order to maintain its valuable service to the community and would welcome any donations or offers of support either long or short term.

The next major event on our fundraising diary is our third annual ball which will be held at Baden Hall on Saturday 23rd February 2008. These have proven highly popular in the past and reservations for tables are already being taken

Any enquiries regarding the scheme or any offers of help should be directed to our scheme contact Mrs Jan Watson on 01785 851336 or via the scheme web site on information@eccleshallcfrs.org.uk

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ECFRS Attend Eccleshall Back In Business Buskers Festival

Eccleshall First Responders were invited by the Eccleshall Business Forum to attend the recent Buskers Festival in the High Street to help them give away free raffle tickets. At the same time our supporters committee were selling our own summer draw tickets and selling our exclusive Responder Bears.

We also took the opportunity to show off some of our equipment including our response vehicle.

Fortunately the day was extremely well attended and declared a great success by the organisers who are now considering whether the buskers festival should become a bi annual event alternating with the Eccleshall Street Festival.
From an ECFRS point of view it was also a great success with many people stopping to look at the kit and talk to us and take the opportunity to buy a summer draw ticket. Responder Bears were also a complete sell out!!

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Successful Night at First CFRs Fashion Show - 11th July 2007

Our thanks go to the manager and staff at the Trentham Gardens branch of the Edinburgh Woollen Mill for hosting our first fashion show. Customers were treated to a show of the latest fashions by "model" responder Alison Edwards whilst enjoying free cheese and wine and 20% discount on goods purchased on the night.

Following the success of this evening, it is hoped to hold another fashion show early in 2008. Watch the 2008 diary.

Thank you to all those who supported the evening.

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Eccleshall Show Society Boosts ECFRS' Funds

Eccleshall Show Society has donated £500 to the town’s First Response Team, despite making a loss at last year’s show.

“Torrential rain and strong winds explained a lower than normal turnout at last year’s show”, explains Peter Titley, Show Manager.

At the Society’s last committee meeting, a cheque for £500 was presented by Mr Titley to Robert Carruthers, representative of the five-strong response team that serves Eccleshall and surrounding areas.

Mr Carruthers was pleased to receive the donation from the Society and explained a little about the service; “The objective of a First Response Scheme is to provide emergency medical care until the professional services arrives. This is done 24/7, and we are funded solely by donations. We hope to purchase a new response vehicle soon, so all donations are vital”.

Mr Titley remarks “Although the show didn’t even break even last year, we felt it was important to recognise the valuable work done by the First Response Team, and the Show Committee was unanimous in deciding to delve into our funds. The donation is particularly pertinent as it is also given in memory of Mr Bim Jacques, former President of the Show Society and original land-owner of the grounds on which the show is staged”.

If you need any more information please email: information@eccleshallcfrs.org.uk

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