The Latest Mikey Network News

mikey network donation

L to R: Malcolm Parish, Gerry Newall, Morty Henkle, David J Neave

The members of the Toronto East District Masons presented The Mikey Network with a $12,000 donation to go towards placing three new MIKEYs (defibrillators) in the community.

We are grateful that the Toronto East District Masons chose The Mikey Network as their charity of choice this year. District Deputy Grand Master David J Neave, is a paramedic and knows first hand the importance of making public access defibrillators available.

To help raise funds for this donation, the members held a charity raffle for Toronto Maple Leafs tickets and gift certificates to a local restaurant.

Thank you to all the Masons of Toronto East District for your generous donation, and for your support!

Variety Village Mikey AED

Toronto Emergency Medical Services Safe City Program and The Mikey Network announced that a woman in her 60’s is alive today because bystanders were willing to step up to help someone in need, and a MIKEY (AED) was available when she needed it.

The woman is a Scarborough resident and regular pilates class attendee at Variety Village on Danforth Avenue.

It was 1 p.m. on April 8, 2014 and she had just finished her class and was walking to her car when she dropped to the ground having suffered a sudden cardiac arrest. Bystanders rushed to her aid, immediately called 911 for the paramedics and started cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR).  The Variety Village MIKEY (automated external defibrillator – AED) was also retrieved and a life–saving shock administered before paramedics arrived to provide additional care.

The woman, in her early sixties, is now recovering in hospital.

This is the first cardiac arrest save by bystanders in the City of Toronto in 2014, and the nineteenth Mikey Network save since the program’s inception. It is also the fourth save at the Variety Village location since their  MIKEY AED was installed.

Toronto EMS Safe City Program Commander Gayle Pollock said, “It is very exciting to announce our first save of 2014 and a great reminder of the importance of bystanders stopping to help someone in medical distress.  The help the bystanders gave to this woman was a critical contribution to saving her life.”

“This is the proof that AED’s in public places can perform miracles. They are simple to use  as the AED “speaks” to the person trying to help with easy to follow step-by-step instructions. Training helps but you don’t have to be trained to use one.” said Morty Henkle, Executive Director of The Mikey Network.

AEDs save lives. That is why it is our mission at The Mikey Network to place our MIKEYS (public access defibrillators) in as many high-risk locations as possible.

 

MIKEY AED donation to Ronald McDonald House Toronto

From left to right:
Lori Belonzo, Operations Manager, Heaven Can Wait Emergency First Aid Training;
David Goodman, President, Heaven Can Wait Emergency First Aid Training;
Morty Henkle, Executive Director, The Mikey Network;
Dr. Paul Okorofsky, Immediate Past President, Toronto Academy of Dentistry;
Dr. Doug Jones, President, Toronto Academy of Dentistry;
Leslie MacElwee, Family Services Manager, Ronald McDonald House Toronto

We’re proud to announce that Ronald McDonald House Toronto is the recipient of two new MIKEY defibrillators. One of these MIKEYS came directly from The Mikey Network ourselves. The other was donated through a joint partnership between The Mikey Network and two other organizations- Toronto Academy of Dentistry (TAD) and Heaven Can Wait (HCW).

Through this partnership, members of Toronto Academy of Dentistry (TAD) can purchase a defibrillator, with training,  from Heaven Can Wait (HCW) Emergency First Aid Training.  A portion of each sale is then donated to The Mikey Network so we can place more MIKEYs. This joint partnership’s mission is to place as many MIKEY defibrillators into the local community as we can.

The children and families at Ronald McDonald House Toronto can sleep a bit easier knowing that help is on hand in the event of sudden cardiac arrest.

asheley mikey presentation

One of our young members of Team Mikey has helped make her school a whole lot safer. Ashley is a grade 4 student in Toronto, who participated in Project Give Back, “a passion based program designed for elementary students to develop empathy, build character, and ignite community minded citizens.” Elementary school students who take part in this program have to:

  • choose a charity
  • do research on their chosen organization
  • contact the charity to learn more
  • create a report
  • and present their findings to their class.

One of the goals of Project Give Back is to teach the children how to do project work, from beginning to end.

Ashley has a personal connection to The Mikey Network – her grandfather passed away due to cardiac arrest. Ashley started in October, and continued working on the project right up until her presentation in March.

As part of the project, she choose The Mikey Network as her charity and contacted us all on her own. Ashley came in and met with our Executive Director, Morty Henkle, to learn more about what we do here.

ashley mikey network“We hope that all students are as passionate for MIKEY as Ashley is,” said Henkle.

To complete her project, Ashley created a display board and spoke about The Mikey Network in front of her whole class. She also did a demo using a MIKEY automatic external defibrillator, complete with dummy. The whole class paid rapt attention and thought demonstration was pretty cool.

A representative from The Mikey Network and a representative from Project Give Back were also there. They were touched by Ashley’s passion for the organization and impressed by her knowledgeable presentation.

As a result of all of Ashley’s hard work, her school has been presented with their very own MIKEY, on behalf of The Mikey Network.

“The class feels safer because we have one of these in the school,” said one of Ashley’s classmates.

We would like to applaud Ashley, and all students like her, who are working to raise awareness of charitable works and give back to their communities.

ashley-letter

mikey-250x166On April 2, 2014, Hillel Winnipeg, the Jewish Students’ Association on campus,  presented two “Mikey” defibrillators to The University of Winnipeg as part of their mission to contribute positively to campus life.

“Community work and volunteerism is in line with the Jewish value of tzedakah, the Hebrew term for charity,” said Josh Winestock, Director of Hillel Winnipeg. “This is a great opportunity for Jewish students to contribute to the campus community in a positive way. We are very proud to be able to give back in this way.”

Hillel Winnipeg has been actively involved in promoting heart health before. The organization sponsored an event to raise money and awareness for Israeli-based charity Save a Child’s Heart, which provides cardiac surgery at no cost for children in under-privileged areas.

“Being involved with Hillel and being able to participate in university life is a great way to get a break from the stress of school, while gaining experience outside the classroom,” says Maya Pollock, a Hillel student.