AED donation helps create safer soccer fields in Innisfil

Innisfil, ON – Last week, members of Innisfil Council celebrated the donation of an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) to the community. AEDs are portable devices designed to provide life-saving treatment to individuals experiencing sudden cardiac arrest. The AED was supplied by the Chase McEachern Memorial Fund through a generous donation from Gateway Casinos Innisfil. The device is placed at the Innisfil Recreational Complex soccer fields.

“Thanks to the Chase McEachern Memorial Fund and Gateway Casinos Innisfil, we have a life-saving tool right at our busy soccer fields,” says Mayor Lynn Dollin. “The prompt use of an AED significantly increases the chances of survival and having an accessible AED not only ensures the safety of our athletes but also of family members and friends who watch their loved ones play. We’re grateful for these continued partnerships in our community.” 

In the off-season, the AED will be placed inside the Innisfil Recreational Complex’s Cortellucci (Red) Rink as a secondary unit.

“Gateway is delighted to be able to participate in the purchase of an AED for the Innisfil Recreational Complex,” says Rob Mitchell, Director of Communications & Public Affairs at Gateway Casinos. “AEDs are a remarkable life-saving tool that anyone can successfully operate to help save a life.”  

The Chase McEachern Memorial Fund, affectionately known as Chase’s Dream, is committed to placing AEDs in public spaces across Canada and empowering residents to use them in cardiac emergencies. A young boy full of passion for life and athletics, Chase McEachern collapsed at school from cardiac arrest in 2006 and never recovered. Fully aware of his heart condition, Chase had a dream for people young and old to be protected wherever they may be—gym, arena, field or court—in emergencies.

“I’m proud to carry on Chase’s vision to place AEDs in all public spaces,” says John McEachern, Chase’s father and Board Member of the Chase McEachern Memorial Fund. “AEDs are easy to use and extremely effective, but they need to be available where people play and gather. Every minute matters in a cardiac emergency, and no one should have to experience the untimely loss of a loved one because an AED wasn’t accessible.”

For more information about the Chase McEachern Memorial Fund and keeping Chase’s dream alive, please visit chasesdream.org.