An energy recruitment firm has raised funds to buy life-saving equipment for its North East office.
Staff at Visuna, which is based at Wynn House, on the Hertburn Estate in Washington, held a number of fund-raising events to pay for a defibrillator to be installed on-site.
The company employs 50 people on Wearside, where it has had a presence for more than 20 years. It also has bases in the US, Australia and Saudi Arabia.
Chief executive of Visuna Ford Garrard said: “The closest defibrillator to our Washington office is one mile away, so it’s likely this would be too far to save a life in an emergency situation.
“The team decided they’d like to purchase a defibrillator for the office and received some funding from the London Hearts charity to help with this, as well as hosting their own fund-raising activities.
“This life-saving device will be situated outside the UK office, funded by team charity activities and will be a public access defibrillator, so in the event of an emergency, anyone in the local area or from any of the businesses on the estate will be able to make use of it.”
The fund-raising events included a Pancake Day buffet, an Easter Egg decorating competition and hunt around the office and a raffle with a star prize of England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford’s signed gloves. Along with a donation from the company, the team raised £1,335 for the defibrillator.
Ford added: “I’m extremely proud of the team and have loved seeing how passionate everyone has been about this very worthy cause.
“At Visuna, a key part of our ethos focuses on supporting and organising charity events, and approaching the team for charity suggestions ensures we choose causes that are close to our people’s hearts.”
Other charity initiatives the company has taken part in include a Macmillan Coffee Morning that raised over £630, donating goods to the Washington Community Food Project and supporting Norah’s North Pole, which ensures that as many children as possible wake up with a gift from Santa on Christmas morning.
For more information on Visuna, which provides world-class workforce solutions for global energy, renewables and tech sector clients, visit https://visuna.com/