Staff from a Diss based funeral directors have raised £1,000 by organising their own ‘Tour de Branche’, around all six branches of Rosedale Funeral Home.
Tour de Branche was the brainchild of Rosedale’s Funeral Conductor Kevin Mobbs who wanted to help the Diss Business Forum raise funds for the Diss First Responders to install another lifesaving defibrillator in Diss.
Starting from Diss, and touring round all six of the Rosedale branches, in Attleborough, Wymondham, Bungay, Beccles and Halesworth the route covered a total of 80 miles. Those who took part raised a whopping £500 which was match funded by Rosedale, bringing the total to £1,000.
“As former First Responders, my wife Sue and I know what a critical difference it can make to have access to a defibrillator and this cause was really close to our hearts” says Kevin. “I managed to persuade some colleagues to come on board with me and we had a really enjoyable day.”
Rachel Hillier from Diss First Responders said: “With our area being over 25 miles from any hospital and our ambulance service having to cover major distances on mostly single carriageway roads, having defibrillators easily accessible to the public is of vital importance in a medical emergency where the first few minutes are of vital importance in maintaining life.”
Rosedale would like to say a huge thank you to all those who helped to make a difference on the day, as colleagues who couldn’t cycle agreed to open the funeral home branches to supply the cyclists with drinks and food to keep them going, as well as a chance to rest in the warm and encourage them along the way.
You can find out more about the defibrillator appeal at http://www.dbf.org.uk/pages/defibrillator-appeal.html
