Although there are many different organizations that can benefit from those extra few dollars, there are a couple of local activities initiated this year that leave the funds right in our cities. Dedicated police officers, firefighters and community members start with an idea and make it come to life.
They help our own community.
CPR Task Force
Earlier this year CPR Task Force members, in conjunction with the city’s Safety Advisory Board, committed themselves to ensuring 6,000 residents were trained in bystander CPR. It’s not something we ever want to do and it is the kind of thing we can happily put on the shelf, hoping we never have to use it.
For $15 you can give neighbors, friends or family a gift that may save a life. Normally the kits run at a cost of more than $30, but the task force has subsidized the cost of the kits.
All they ask is that you commit four people to learning CPR from the kit that is purchased. That’s just $3 per person – a bargain in anyone’s books.
Using the kit’s instructional DVD, inflatable mannequin and an included learning guide, the whole family can learn CPR at home in under 30 minutes.
This gift of life is available in Temple at the Public Library, 100 W. Adams Ave.; the Central Fire Station, 505 N. Third St.; and at the Summit Recreation Center, 620 S. Fryers Creek Circle. In Salado, purchase the kits at the Village Voice office on Mill Creek Drive or the Visitor Center on Main Street. Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) victims in the United States have only a 6 percent survival rate if CPR and defibrillation is not administered within four to six minutes; 75-80 percent of SCA events happens in the home.
The value of early CPR by bystanders is that it can buy time by maintaining some blood flow to the heart and brain during cardiac arrest.
Fire and Rescue calendars
While one of the calendars is certainly aimed at the ladies, the other is a photographic history of Temple Fire and Rescue celebrating 125 years of service.
The calendar shows how far we have come since the days of the horse and cart.
In the pin-up calendar, tastefully photographed, you can see that under the turnout gear that firefighters wear there are some pretty decent looking men.
Every good man will get a copy for the lady in their life, and every good woman will get one for the man - if he doesn’t like it, it’s still a win-win for the woman.
The funds raised go to quite a few local charities, but at this time of year firefighters are concentrating on providing for children and families in the area who need a Christmas that they can’t afford.
Rescue Elves go to the Bell County Help Center and pick the names of children who will get gifts.
“Parents will tell the Help Center what their child would like and then we go out and get the gifts,” said Ron Stewart Temple Fire and Rescue, B-shift public information officer.
To help the Rescue Elves, Fire & Rescue accepts new toys, clothing for toddlers or monetary donations at Central Fire Station, at 505 N. Third St. Checks should be made out to Firefighters Union No. 846.
Operation Fast Track
Operation Fast Track is new to the Temple area this year. All funds raised are from donations and the Temple Police Department does all the fundraising.
Operation Fast Track provides extra security for those with family members who tend to wander because of such things as Alzeimer’s and and other forms of dementia, or autism.
There are now six residents directly benefiting from the bracelet-style transmitter - and the Temple Police Department knows it works.
Recently Temple police were notified that an Alzheimer’s patient was missing in the area of the Municipal Court in the 300 block of W. Avenue B.
The 70-year-old had driven away in his wife’s car while she was conducting business inside the court. Unfortunately, the couple’s 10-month-old granddaughter was also in the car as the man drove away. The man was reunited with his family 40 minutes after he was reported missing.
Every dollar helps a program like this and, while a bracelet may cost about $300, a group of 30 people in an office or neighborhood watch program can collect $10 each. If you work in a small office, batteries for the batteries are $8 each. Batteries and wristbands, which cannot be removed without being destroyed, are changed out every 30 days by police officers.
Donations may be made at the Temple Police Department, 209 E. Ave. A. For details call Temple police department at 298-5500.
