Fundraising efforts by Christopher Gaunt and Chris Grant will make the Scenic Rim community safer.
The two men formed micro business Collective Creations (CC Squared) in 2020, with a view to fundraising over $2,000 for a community defibrillator.
One of the inspirations for the fundraising was yellow OG Wiggle Greg Page who suffered a heart attack at a bushfire relief reunion show in 2020.
He received CPR on-site from a nurse in the audience and a defibrillator which was credited with saving his life.
Christopher Gaunt is a huge Wiggles fan and this event led to the idea of a community defibrillator.
Christopher and Chris began their fundraising by making timber products at the Wongaburra Men’s Shed and selling them through the Beaudesert Markets.
The products included cute timber owls which gained a strong following with people in the local community.
With both men having compromised immune systems, during Covid they made the difficult decision to stop attending markets.
This led them to turn to Mick Kajewski at Beaudesert Swimming Pool and the Containers for Change program.
“Different groups have had use of the bins in the past, the Girl Guides had them for a season and the guys (Christopher and Chris) have had them for two years,” said Mick.
During this time Chris Grant moved away, but assisted his friend when he visited Beaudesert and keeps in touch regularly.
Mick would call Christoper’s mother, Lorraine Gaunt or his support worker to collect the cans from the specially marked bins at the swimming pool and Christopher would sort through the bins, extracting the cans to exchange for ten cents each in the Containers for Change program.
The community defibrillator is available at no cost to community organisations through M K Training Solutions.
For enquiries contact Mick Kajewski by email to mktrainingsolutions@bigpond.com
