Today we gathered at Applewood Heights Secondary School in Mississauga, to make an exciting announcement for our Mikey Young At Heart Peel District School Board initiative.
We’ve committed to placing our MIKEYs (defibrillators) in all 250+ schools in the Peel District- a $500,000, 3 year initiative. This is the largest defibrillator donation ever to a North American School Board.
Schools are not just for educating our children, they act as vital community centres. We estimate that having the new MIKEYs available in all Peel District schools will benefit 1,296,814 people including students, faculty, staff, and members of the community that use school facilities for sporting venues, continuing education, and polling centres.
A generous donation of $160,000 from Heathwood Homes, has kicked the program into high gear and the first defibrillator has already been installed at Applewood Heights Secondary School.
Bob Finnigan, COO Housing at The Heron Group of Companies and Heathwood Homes, presented the cheque and announced, “Each Heathwood homeowner at our new Meadowgreen community will have a MIKEY donated to a Peel District school in their name.”
Hugh Heron, President of Heathwood Homes and Chairman of The Mikey Network, spoke about the importance of defibrillators. “Nineteen lives have been saved by MIKEY defibrillators, including three young students.”
Dipika Damerla, MPP of Mississauga East-Cooksville said, “[Mikey Young At Heart] will be a momentous and meaningful part of Peel history. Thank you to Heathwood Homes for committing to Peel this large donation.”
Brad Butt, Member of Parliament – Mississauga-Streetsville, read a message from Prime Minister Stephen Harper, commending us on our efforts and wishing us well. He added that “approximately 155,000 students and 15,000 school employees in public Peel schools will benefit from MIKEYs.”
Janet McDougald, Chair of Peel District School Board said, “the key focus of the Peel District School Board is to promote a healthy living environment. We’re so grateful to celebrate a donation of 250+ MIKEYs, improving safety for all. Thank you Hugh Heron [of Heathwood Homes].”
Tony Pontes, Director of Education at Peel District School Board said, “this is an exciting moment for all of us. It’s an incredible step forward for the well-being of our students. We support [Heathwood Homes] Hugh Heron’s goal of having a MIKEY everywhere there is a fire extinguisher. We are so thankful.”
12-year-old Mikey Student Ambassador, Emily Herbert, is at risk for cardiac arrest due to an inherited disease known as Brugada syndrome. She has her own personal MIKEY defibrillator through our Mikey’s Kids program.
Emily spoke about how she benefits from having a MIKEY close at hand, saying “Now I can play soccer and do cheerleading. The MIKEY is like a seat belt. I hope I never need it, but it protects me if I do.”
The Mayor of Mississauga, Hazel McCallion, was also in attendance. She said, “We need these [MIKEY defibrillators] all over the place. Heathwood Homes is a perfect example of a builder giving back. Thank you for all your wonderful work.”
The event concluded with a demonstration of a “live save” showing how a MIKEY defibrillator would be used to help someone suffering Sudden Cardiac Arrest.
Thank you to all our esteemed guests for coming out to celebrate this important initiative. We especially want to thank Applewood Heights Secondary School for hosting our press conference. Congratulations on your new MIKEY defibrillator!
Visit MikeyInPeel.com to learn more about the Mikey Young At Heart “Peel Plus” program.
