A WAIKERIE community group has donated another $2000 defibrillator to a local sports club that shares clubrooms with other groups, effectively making the emergency life-saving apparatus available to hundreds.
The Rotary Club of Waikerie donated a defibrillator to the Waikerie Tennis Club (WTC) recently – the seventh machine Rotary has donated to schools and groups in the Riverland West area.
WTC president Penny Kroehn said the defibrillator would be installed in the combined sporting clubrooms near the Waikerie Recreation Centre, meaning it will be available for the netball club, Little Athletics, and other groups that use the clubrooms.
“We were very fortunate to receive a defibrillator from the Waikerie Rotary Club,” she said. “We thank the Rotary Club for their generous donation.”
Waikerie Rotarian Steve Dibben said the Rotary Club has a “close relationship” with the tennis club, having donated a tennis ball machine to the members as well.
“The feedback from the tennis club members has been really good – they love the tennis ball machine,” he said.
“The tennis club… has great facilities down there that bring other clubs in from not just the Riverland but further out towards the Barossa and Adelaide, and having a defibrillator there boosts the safety and security of the site.
“Rotary started donating defibrillators a few years ago, starting with the local RSL and Senior Citizens Club, and we’ve branched out into supplying them to sporting groups as well.
“There is a defibrillator at the Waikerie Recreation Centre, but there’s not always someone with access to the centre at the (tennis) clubrooms, so this just increases surety and peace of mind.”