Dębica, 11th June 2008 -- Two modern Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) manikins have been used by more than 1,000 students of Vocational School Complex No 1 in Dębica for first-aid training purposes. Thanks to Tire Company Dębica S.A., which donated funds for the purchase of up-to-date equipment for teaching how to save human lives, the civil defense training sessions are no longer based on theory, but on drawings published in textbooks.

“The safety care of both drivers and pedestrians is one of the major objectives to be met by tire makers. Unfortunately, accidents cannot be avoided, so everyone should be prepared to give first aid. Properly given aid will frequently save human lives,” said Marta Konopacka, the Communications Director of Tire Company Dębica S.A. “By donating the Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) manikins to the Dębica-based Vocational School Complex No. 1, we want to help the teachers in their job of preparing, as well as possible, the students, future road users, to provide first aid to road accident victims. Their professional knowledge and practical skills will guarantee that, in Dębica and in the Subcarpathian region, it will be safer,” added Ms. Konopacka.

The manikins received by the Vocational School Complex No. 1 are two models: one has the dimensions of an adult man, the other one of an infant. The adult manikin is equipped with electronic sensors and diode indicators, and so the students will be able to find out immediately if any rescue action taken by them was effective. “The equipment we received is technically very advanced and, consequently, attractive for the young people who are more than willing to practice first aid exercises,” said Barbara Buszek, a Civil Defense training teacher at Vocational School Complex No. 1 in Dębica. It was Ms. Buszek’s idea to purchase the manikins, and it was she who requested Tire Company Dębica S.A. to fund the purchase.

“We are grateful to Tire Company Dębica S.A. that it responded to our appeal. Consequently, more than one thousand students at our school will be able to undergo professional training on rescue techniques. It is crucial that young people who have just entered adult life are able to react appropriately when human life is at risk” said Barbara Buszek.

Until recently, in order to carry out first aid, the teachers of Vocational School Complex No 1 had to request firemen to lend manikins, which were older and less resistant to damage. Now, the Dębica Vocational School Complex can announce its readiness to lend the equipment it has received to other educational facilities so that their students can also learn how to give aid when necessary.

For years now, Tire Company Dębica S.A. has been supporting social and educational activities. The organizations that have been provided with various aid include, but are not limited to, Special Schools Complex in Dębica, the “Hanka” Children’s Home, the Dębica Home Hospice, the “Promyki Nadziei” Childcare and Educational Facility, the “Radość” Association of Parents and Friends of the Disabled, the Subcarpathian branch of the Polish Association for the Blind and the Municipal Social Welfare Center in Dębica. Tire Company Dębica S.A. also supports the emergency services, such as the fire brigade, police and emergency ambulance services in Dębica, and in the Subcarpathian region and elsewhere (e.g. support for the Mountain Rescue Service).

Thanks to donations both in the form of financial means (in the last five years it has reached almost PLN 3.5 million), and non-cash donations (tires) it is possible to aid – including, but not limited to, non-cash aid, attendance at meetings, workshops and trips organized by the associations etc. – a growing number of people: the disabled, those in hardship, those from the underprivileged areas of society, those requiring specialist medical or rehabilitation care etc. It also supports able-bodied youths by funding scholarships as well as by funding educational activities, such as teaching how to give first aid.