The Latest Mikey Network News

Ronald McDonald House Receives Two New MIKEYS Thanks to TAD & HCW Partnership

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.

Young Team Mikey Member Impresses Us With Her Passion

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

Hillel Winnipeg Donates a MIKEY AED to the University of Winnipeg

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.

 

A matter of the heart – Teen raises funds for public defibrillators

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Emily_MikeyHere’s an amazing story of friendship from Grimsby, Ontario that shows what can happen when a community comes together.

One of Mikey’s Kids, Emily Herbert, is at risk for cardiac arrest due to an inherited disease known as Brugada syndrome. Her friends watched how this diagnosis affected her whole family.

A family friend, Brenden Ruigrok, decided to throw a fundraiser for Emily, to give back to the organization that provided her with an AED – The Mikey Network! He organized a youth dance as a fundraiser.

“I wanted to help people like Emily,” said Ruigrok, who was trained on how to use the Mikey at age 11 along with the Herbert family. “I saw so many places in the community where people needed help I thought why not do something for somebody that I care about. Someone who I am close to.”

More than 100 kids showed up – including all of Emily’s friends of course. They raised over $1,200 for The Mikey Network.

You can read the whole story in the Grimsby Lincoln News online.

TWO MEN AND A TRUCK Is Making Peterborough A Little Safer with Mikey On Board

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This Thursday, March 27, 2014, Kari Campbell, Franchisee and General Manager of TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® – Oshawa and Peterborough, , held a demonstration of how the MIKEY defibrillator in all of their Moving Trucks can save lives.

As one of our partners in the Mikey On Board Program,  every one of their  six trucks that move through Oshawa, Peterborough, and throughout the Durham Region, is equipped with a MIKEY, and their movers and drivers have been trained how to use them.

The demonstration was featured on CHEXTV. 

Pamela Vanmeer reports, “For the first time in Peterborough and the Kawarthas….a moving company is making one of the most stressful days of a persons life a little safer.”

Thank you to Two Men And A Truck, for being such amazing partners!