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Saxmundham Judo Club Unveils Donated Defibrillator in Community Collaboration

On Wednesday 18th June; a defibrillator donated to the people of Saxmundham from a fundraising campaign by Saxmundham Judo Club; along with support from an East Suffolk District Council Community Enabling Fund; was officially unveiled.

Located on the outside rear terrace of The Bell Hotel; the defibrillator was procured,  installed and registered in December of 2024. However, time restraints and inclement weather conditions prevented the official unveiling and handover until this month.

In fact, the defibrillator has been called into action during this time; the emergency services attending an incident in the High Street in April, collected the defibrillator as a precaution, though it was thankfully not used on this occasion.

Previously, the only defibrillator in Saxmundham was located on the front wall of Waitrose supermarket. It was decided by Saxmundham Judo Club, that since most gatherings and events take place at the Market Hall or the High Street, that it would be more accessible to have a unit close to the Market Hall itself which could be easily and quickly accessed by visitors, businesses and residents in the centre of town too.  

Unfortunately, permission for the device to be located on the front of the Market Hall; facing out into the High Street, was denied due to the Market Hall being a listed building and so a new location was required.

Due to Saxmundham being a conservation area, and the Market Hall being a listed building Saxmundham Town Council were not able to host the device. However, in a community collaboration, the Management Team at The Bell Hotel: offered the rear terrace as an alternative location which is still very close to the Market Hall and High Street.  Within weeks, the defibrillator was procured and arrangements for its installation and registration to the national network (The Circuit) made.

The funding for the defibrillator came in a 50/50 agreement, with  Saxmundham Judo Club raising its 50% through various events such as sponsored walks, raffles, the holding of the Suffolk Judo Festival; a youth Judo competition.

It was with thanks to District and Saxmundham Town Councillor, John Fisher, that the remaining 50% of funding was applied for and provided from the East Suffolk District Council Community Enabling Fund.

The defibrillator will be managed by The Bell Hotel team  who will be undertaking the required maintenance checks and log book entries.

It was important to all at the Judo Club, to have as many people involved in the provision of the defibrillator at the official unveiling.  They were therefore able to tie this momentous occasion in with a visit from international Judo player, Ben Caldwell, who also undertook some coaching and demonstration sessions to the members. Saxmundham was also honoured to have a representative from the British Judo Association (BJA), Laurence Kenyon, in attendance to present club founder, Keith Cartwright-Jones with a Community  Award for his twenty years of voluntary coaching and community work within the Judo Club; making this a really special occasion.

Representatives from The Bell Hotel team, Saxmundham Town Council Chair John Findlay, District Councillor John Fisher were also in attendance; along with a mixture of the varying member age groups within the Saxmundham Judo Club.

Colin Merryweather, Coach At Saxmundham Judo Club said, “We are very proud to have integrated our amazing club into the community; not just providing Judo to the coaching, but being able to build on our relationship with local business and the community as a whole; delivering various projects to improve our overall community.

“The Saxmundham Judo Club extends its thanks to all those that were involved, made donations and attended this latest of our successful projects.

The club has come a long way since its early beginnings, with almost sixty members today. It looks to enhance the club further in the future; both with new local members and of course providing spaces and potentially additional training session nights as new people come to our developing town and surrounding areas.”

 

 

Future projects for the community being undertaken by Saxmundham Judo Club in this year, include:

  • Saxmundham Veterans Breakfast Club: this is an opportunity for armed forces veterans in the area to gather on or around Armed Forces Day, to enjoy a breakfast, provided by the fundraising of the Judo Club. Funding will be provided for the next five years.
  • RNLI New Crew Member Project: this is a project to provide a new crew recruit at the Aldeburgh RNLI with the equipment required to ensure their safety and protection when working on the lifeboat crew.
  • In addition, the team at Aldeburgh RNLI have formed a relationship with the Saxmundham Judo Club; in which we look to them to provide water safety courses for the Judo club members of all ages; whilst making Judo available to the crew members.
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