Local artist’s donation supports efforts of Fakenham emergency volunteers
Painting sale to aid Community First Responders at Fakenham Arts Festival
An oil painting by local artist Jarome is aiming to raise funds for the Fakenham Community First Responders (CFR) at the Fakenham Arts Festival this month (August).
The artwork, titled Asphodel Meadow, draws inspiration from Ancient Greek mythology, depicting a serene space between life and death.
Jarome, an Irish artist residing in Norfolk for 25 years, donated the piece, with proceeds from its sale intended to support the CFR group.
The Fakenham Community First Responders consist of 15 volunteers who attend to crisis situations in collaboration with the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust.
During the past three years, the group has volunteered over 13,000 hours, addressing emergencies ranging from cardiac arrest to falls and welfare concerns.
The initial response provided by CFRs often proves crucial until professional medical teams arrive.
Christine Wheeler, associated with Fakenham Community First Responders, says having a presence at the art festival, means meeting many of the people they have helped save:
"Sometimes when we're doing events like this, we will meet people and they will say, 'oh, you came out to my dad and now he's so much better', that really keeps us going. That's really encouraging."
"Some people refer to us as heroes. But we're not, we're just ordinary people who care about the community we live in."
Funds raised through donations or the sale of the painting will be directed towards acquiring vital equipment such as defibrillators:
"The most expensive piece of equipment we carry is the defibrillator, which costs over £1000 pounds.
But there's lots of other major things that we need, like pulse oximeters or the NMA phones, those are the kind of things that make a real difference."
For Christie, the presence at the art festival is about two main things:
" One will be that people will learn about what we do and they'll ask questions about what first responders do. And the other one is hopefully somebody nice will buy it ! "