The Heart of Dunwoody - a “Gift of Life” from the Citizens of Dunwoody for the Citizens of Dunwoody.

Together, let's put one in every Dunwoody Police car.

The Heart of Dunwoody
#219
2526 Mount Vernon Rd, STE B
Dunwoody, GA 30338

Vision Statement
To equip all Dunwoody Police vehicles, City Hall and Police Station with Automated External Defibrillators for the protection of all residents, visitors and businesses in Dunwoody.

Background
As a result of two incidents that recently occurred, one in Chamblee and one in Dunwoody, interest in the equipping of our Dunwoody Police force with Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) was brought to the forefront of issues within the City.

Of particular interest was the report from Chamblee that a police officer saved a residents life as a direct result of his use of the newly acquired AED that the city had put into each of its patrol cars. The question was raised, “does Dunwoody have these devices?” Sadly the answer was no.

In the hurry to start up the City and fully equip our officers, one critical piece of life saving equipment was inadvertently omitted from the list. No fault here as AEDs are relatively new and only over the last couple of years have the prices for these high tech miracle devices come down to a level where they are no longer cost prohibitive. Now we as a COMMUNITY have the opportunity to rectify that oversight.

What are AEDs?
They are portable devices that restore a heart to its normal rhythm and beat

Why do we need AEDs?
The answer is simple, they save lives.

Sudden Cardiac Arrest claims the lives of over 250,000 people each and every year. That is more victims than die from Breast Cancer, Prostate Cancer, Aids, Hand Guns, and Traffic Accidents… COMBINED!

SCA is not a heart attack; rather it is a cardiac rhythm disturbance, sometimes a result of a freak sports accident or without any warning or trigger. The electrical signals that control the heart go haywire and the heart stops. It is a quiet, unpredictable killer that can claim the lives of young and old, man or woman, athlete or couch potato. Once SCA occurs, only an electrical stimulus or shock to the heart can revive the victim.

• Over 600 victims a day
• 75% occur outside of hospitals
• > 50% occur without prior symptoms
• Chance for successful recovery decrease by 10% each minute
• Victims need to receive a shock from an AED within 5 minutes
• 95% die without very early treatment

What Kind of Investment?
• An investment that shows no return on the dollar
• An investment in a device, if used just one time, that pays for itself over hundreds of lifetimes
• An investment that buys us the most valuable thing known to man, time and life itself
• An investment in equipment that we hope we never have to use

The Plan
Regardless of what organization you work with or neighborhood that you live in, this fundraising event could be the one thing that we all agree on. It benefits us now and in the future. It is one gift that we as citizens can give to each other. It is the gift of life.

What better way to celebrate the anniversary of our City, Christmas or Hanukkah. With that in mind a very aggressive completion date of 12-31-09 has been set. Time is a luxury that we cannot afford.

Goal
With an estimated cost of $1,500 per AED (before any volume or negotiated discounts) we would need to raise about $ 75,000. A huge challenge, but one that I believe can be realized through individual, group and corporate donations.

If we collect just one dollar for every person who lives in Dunwoody, we would be half way to our goal. Start to include all the businesses, churches and civic organizations and $75 K is truly attainable.

With the Proclamation that was passed by the City Council, we are ready to move forward towards our goal. We have setup our nonprofit status and are now reaching out to the organizations, clubs, neighborhood associations, and businesses that we want to make presentations to.

We will attend any meeting, no matter how small or large to make a presentation for this cause. We will accept donation in ANY amount, in person or by mail.

We established a bank account at Sun TrustBank that will be handling all of our donations. All funds , minus the set up costs will go directly to the purchase of AEDs and a community wide AED program

To make a donation, please make your checks payable to: “The Heart of Dunwoody”

Donations can be mailed to:
The Heart of Dunwoody
#219
2526 Mount Vernon Rd, STE B
Dunwoody, GA 30338

I am one of the lucky ones; my wife was one of the 5% survivors. The SCA changed her life and my family’s lives forever. My hope is that we raise all this money and no one ever has to go through what my three girls lived through and no one else suffers the loss of a loved one as a result of a SCA.

Thank you all in advance for this incredible opportunity.

Bob Lundsten
blundsten@comcast.net or
heart-of-dunwoody@comcast.net
404 358 4147

PowerPoint in pdf
PowerPoint in ppt
Open Letter in pdf
Open Letter in doc