Special gift to community lifesavers

The Lefferts-Liberty Kiwanians became lifesavers last month.
At their final meeting of 2008, on Thursday, December 18 at Carosello Restaurant, the club donated a pediatric trauma kit to the Woodhaven-Richmond Hill Volunteer Ambulance Corps.
According to Club President Carol Verdi, they had a guest speaker recently from the Kiwanis Pediatric Trauma Center; after that, they decided to make the donation, though she noted, “My wish is that you never have to use it.”
“The Kiwanis Pediatric Trauma Kit is a child-sized ambulance equipment kit which was developed to meet most on-scene emergency needs of children,” according to the web site www.kiwanispediatrictraumacenter.org. “The kits are donated to fire departments and ambulance services under the auspices of the local Kiwanis clubs in each community. A typical kit contains special equipment that ambulance personnel may need to properly care for a small child, as well as a stuffed animal for the child.”
“We thank you so much for your help,” said Patricia Sexton, Corresponding Vice President of the Corps.
It’s a family affair for her - her husband, Timothy Sexton Jr., was one of the founding members in 1965, and now her daughters are also involved - Kathy Dalbey serves as president and her sister Kelly is second vice president.
“We started in a storefront with ambulances that looked like hearses,” said Sexton. “Today we serve people in Woodhaven, Richmond Hill and Kew Gardens” at absolutely no charge.
The Corps, which has medics and EMTs on staff, most of whom are volunteers, depends wholly on contributions and fund drives. Its annual operating budget is between $50,000 and $60,000, and will transport patients to any hospital, provided they are stable enough.
For more information on the Woodhaven-Richmond Hill Volunteer Ambulance Corps, call 718-296-7918.