DeKalb County Sheriff's Office receives $10,000 for defibrillators

SYCAMORE – The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office recently received two grants that will help pay for enough automated external defibrillators to outfit the seven remaining squad cars that do not have them.

On Thursday, the sheriff's office accepted a $10,000 donation from the DeKalb County Community Foundation.

AEDs are the only treatment to restore regular heart rhythm to a victim in cardiac arrest, according to the American Red Cross. Because much of DeKalb County is a rural area, sometimes deputies arrive at the scene of an incident before paramedics.

“We’ve had them for many years,” Lt. Jim Burgh of the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office said. “We’ve used them two times this year and saved two lives.”

The units are not cheap, costing between $1,500 and $1,600 each. The sheriff’s office received an additional grant from Canadian Pacific Railway for $4,500 for first aid supplies to help cover the total cost of the AEDs, Burgh said.

Sheriff’s patrol cars carry different first aid supplies, Burgh said. Each car is equipped with Narcan in case of an opioid overdose and tourniquets for more serious injuries.

The donation from the DeKalb County Community Foundation was one of 31 the foundation distributed recently, totaling more than $150,000.

The other donation recipients include:

• A Promise For Parents: $9,000 to buy mannequins and adaptive technology for at-risk families with disabled parents as head of household.

• Celebration Chorale: $1,860 to buy music.

• Children’s Home + Aid: $4,000 to buy car seats and other supplies to support the “Healthy Families Illinois” program in DeKalb County.

• Citizens for Inclusive Playgrounds: $8,100 to build a playground to meet the needs of developmentally and physically delayed young children and their nondisabled peers.

• Cornerstone Christian Academy: $4,000 to buy ovens and utility cabinets in the school kitchen.

• DeKalb County Youth Services Bureau: Received $1,600 to conduct a strategic planning process.

• DeKalb Park District: $5,000 for a plant restoration project along the DeKalb Nature Trail.

• Equine Dreams: $15,000 to assist with the horse stall barn expansion project.

• Farmworker and Landscaper Advocacy Project: $4,000 to inform low-income workers about human labor trafficking and workplace rights through workshops.

• Flewellin Memorial Library: $2,500 to replace patron and circulation computers.

• Fox Valley Older Adult Services: $7,500 to construct an outbuilding for senior equipment lending.

• Greater Elgin Family Care Center: $5,000 to equip the Center for Family Health with mobile workstation carts.

• Hinckley Historical Society: $2,400 to install air conditioning.

• Hope Haven: $10,000 to buy a minivan for client transportation.

• Joseph F. Glidden Homestead and Historical Center: $5,500 to install a permanent electrical connection to the Historic Glidden Barn.

• Kirkland Police Department: $3,800 to buy and install car data systems.

• Kishwaukee Family YMCA: $5,000 to implement a bicycle awareness and safety campaign to promote the “3 Feet to Pass” law.

• Malta Township Public Library: $3,000 to buy and build a storage shed for library materials and equipment.

• Sandwich Fair Association: $7,500 to replace stairs into the Home Arts building on the Sandwich Fairgrounds.

• Sandwich Public Library District: $1,000 to buy large picture books for use during story time and lending to teachers.

• Shabbona-Lee-Rollo Historical Museum: $1,400 to replace the front doors.

• Sycamore School District 427: $2,000 to transition a space in Sycamore High School to an art gallery.

• TAILS Humane Society: $1,300 to buy kennel doors for dog cages and kennels.

• Voluntary Action Center of DeKalb County: $25,000 to install a walk-in freezer and expand the community kitchen.

• Waterman Lions Club Charities Inc.: $7,000 to build a new park pavilion in Waterman’s Lions Park.