2019 saw the HoundDogs organisation make the decision to try and raise enough funds to purchase a defibrillator for the club house at Horsebridge Rec, the home of the HoundDogs as well as Hellingly Cricket Club, Hellingly Rugby Club and several other clubs.

Back in September 2019 the Coaches of the HoundDogs set out to raise around £500 by not drinking alcohol for the entire month. This feat, if anyone knows our coaches, was a massive ask, which they achieved, . The club then planned a sponsored 5K run for the players to raise the remaining balance. This is when the dreaded Covid hit. The project has been put onto the back burner as the club navigated its way through the pandemic.

“A defibrillator is a device that gives a high energy electric shock to the heart of someone who is in cardiac arrest. This high energy shock is called defibrillation, and it’s an essential part in trying to save the life of someone who’s in cardiac arrest. A defibrillator may also be referred to as a defib, an AED (Automated External Defibrillator) or a PAD (Public Access Defibrillator).” Article from the British Hear Foundation website

The recent events in the Euro’s with Christian Ericksen, brought the need for these machines back to the lime light, not just amongst the HoundDogs organisation, but everyone in sport and the public. The club sent out a plea over Social Media for help to raise the remaining money needed to purchase this equipment. Two local companies came forward and offered donations to help the club. These companies were ZFE Consulting from Heathfield and IQ Builders Merchants who are based in Hellingly.

IQ Director, Stewart Kennedy added “IQ Builders Merchant noticed an appeal to raise the final funds for a defibrillator for Hellingly HoundDogs, with recent events occurring in the football world emphasising the need for such life saving equipment, IQ Builders Merchant agreed it to be the right thing to do in covering the value to allow Hellingly Hound Dogs to make the purchase.
We sincerely hope you guys never have to use but take comfort in the fact you have the kit should a situation arise and for that it is the IQ Family is proud to have helped.”

HoundDogs Club Chairman, Luke Boorer added “Raising the funds for a defib has been a goal of the club’s for sometime. With the news that came from the Euros, this brought the need for these machines into the public eye, so we thought that this may help us. We put an article up on Social Media and ZFE and IQ came forward to help us raise the additional funds that we needed. We will now be working with Hellingly Sports Trust to get this machine installed so should the worse ever happen, the equipment is in place that could save not only the life of a player of the HoundDogs but a member of any other team using Horsebridge or even a member of the public. Several of our Coaches have been trained for using these machines thanks to Phoenix Medical over in Hastings on a recently attended course. Its community spirit like this that helps to make our area such a fantastic place to live and bring up children. I would personally like to thank Ben from ZFE and Stewart from IQ builders Merchants for helping us to reach our goals”.