SOUTHWICK – Members of the Health Careers Club at the Southwick Regional School are hosting a 5K Fun Run/Walk on Saturday, July 14. The event will take place at the track on the grounds of the Southwick Regional School.
The 5k starts at 9 a.m., but there is also a fun-run walk beginning at 10 a.m. that is 1.3 miles. Participants can register online at RunSouthwick.com until July 14. Costs are $25 for the 5k and $15 for the fun-run/walk.
This shows an AED (Automated External Defibrillator) in a case that is at schools. (WNG File Photo)
The run is a fundraiser that the students in the health career club have been working on since the beginning of the 2017-18 school year. All proceeds will go towards purchasing an AED (Automated External Defibrillator) and code-blue light system on the track.
The KEVS Foundation has agreed to donate an AED to the project so all monies raised will go towards the code blue light system. A non-profit organization located in Western Massachusetts, KEVS Foundation focuses on educating and helping prevent Sudden Cardiac Arrest.
Effective July 1, a new law in Massachusetts requires all schools to have AED’s on site at all school-sponsored events. This includes extra-curricular activities like sporting events. The bill was passed by both the state’s house and senate in January 2017.
Since their first fundraiser in February, the students have raised money but have also received around $1,000 each from both the Southwick and Granville Select Boards. The Southwick Regional School Class of 2017 made a donation of $1,500 as well. The code-blue light system will cost approximately $7,500. The goal of the 5k Fun Run/Walk is to have 100 runners sign up, which would raise around $2,000.
“Hopefully getting the word out will get this moving,” said Marcia Lamoreaux, a nurse at the Southwick Regional School and the adviser of the Health Careers Club. “We’ve been doing very well.”
The four students of the Health Career Club met with the Select Board in April to discuss their project. (WNG File Photo)
The code blue light system would alert the Southwick Police Department of an emergency that is happening on or near the track. There would be a visible button for someone to push to notify the police. The AED would be there for residents to use in event of an emergency. The power to run the system would be coming from the school, but the exact way hasn’t been determined yet.
The initial reason for this project resulted from an incident that occurred at the regional school in June 2017 when a faculty member had an emergency and needed the assistance of an AED. An AED that was donated to the school was able to help save the individual’s life. Lamoreaux was the first faculty member to be on scene and help her colleague.
The four students, Julia Fox, Clair Stratton, Jackie Seddon, and Arden Massoia, who are spearheading the fundraising, thought it was important to do something in light of the incident with the faculty member.
“That’s why these kids are so involved in this,” said Lamoreaux. “They’re amazing, I’m really lucky to have a nice group of kids.”
