Melbourne Airport’s Community Giving Fund is marking a successful six months of operation, having handed out more than $10,000 to six local community groups since its launch in October last year.
Designed to aid local community groups in suburbs directly surrounding the airport, the fund offers grants of $2000 to help pay for expenses associated with community initiatives of all shapes and sizes.
Each year thousands of items are left in the airport terminals by travellers, those that remain unclaimed are auctioned off to subsidise the fund.
This month’s recipient of the $2000 grant was St John Ambulance’s ‘Defib in Your Street’ program. This initiative focuses on installing 24-hour publicly accessible defibrillators and providing training in defibrillator use and CPR.
St John Ambulance marketing and community manager Emma Klinakis said multiple suburbs in Brimbank sit within the top 10 highest postcodes for number of cardiac arrest in the state.
“We know that more defibrillators and training in the area is the only way to improve survival from the deadly condition of sudden cardiac arrest, which has a 95 per cent death rate in Victoria currently,” she said.
“The Defib In Your Street program aims to save lives by supplying the Brimbank community with access to free CPR education, and installing publicly accessible defibrillators every 400m.
“We are committed to working in the area, with the support of other wonderful local organisations such as the airport, to help us get there. We don’t receive any government funding for this work so encourage local organisations to pitch in wherever possible.”
The fund is open year round to community groups in suburbs directly surrounding the airport.
Details: www.melbourneairport.com.au/community/community-grants
