Halesowen mother of two, Emily Fereday, was so deeply shocked by the fatal stabbing of Leo Ross and the levels of teenage knife crime she was motivated to proactively support The Daniel Baird Foundation and fundraise for emergency bleed control kits.
Emily has placed 60 bleed kits in primary and secondary schools in the Dudley and west Birmingham area in just six months and has now started her own charity – Fereday’s First Response – to focus on providing emergency medical equipment to schools.
Emily, also a trained teaching assistant, has always been passionate about safeguarding children. With two secondary school-aged sons and so many high-profile incidents, she felt compelled to take action. Crucially, Emily is targeting primary schools as well as secondary schools because she believes starting open conversations with younger pupils will have a greater impact on knife crime in the coming years.
The overwhelming support she has received from local businesses and individuals has inspired her continued fundraising efforts with the aim of installing public access combination cabinets outside schools, which contain both The Daniel Baird Foundation bleed control kits and defibrillators.
The latest donations of £500 from St Peter’s Church, Cradley and £1,200 from Ramsey Health Care, a local private hospital, will provide Cradley Church of England Primary School in Halesowen with a combination defib and bleed kit cabinet. It will be installed on the exterior of the school’s new gates before the next academic year.
Emily Fereday, founder of Fereday’s First Response, said: “I have 11 and 13-year-old boys and them being in the wrong place at the wrong time around someone with a knife is one of my biggest fears. Children are dying on our streets every week.
“These 60 bleed control kits are now in place to save lives around Birmingham, but my hope is that they will spark more conversations between young people about the devastating effects of carrying a knife. Schools are central to communities and are crucial to changing young people’s mindsets, and this starts in primary education.
“While I’ve been inspired to act, I have to thank all the many people and businesses who have donated. It’s a cause that more and more people are becoming passionate about.
“The Daniel Baird Foundation has done so much wonderful work, it’s an honour to support Lynne Baird and the charity but I’m motivated to do as much as I can. Therefore, Fereday’s First Response will also focus on installing publicly accessible cabinets outside schools that contain defibrillators as well as bleed kits for the whole community’s benefit.”
Lynne Baird, founder of The Daniel Baird Foundation, added: “I’m overwhelmed by Emily’s energy and determination to support our campaign and place more of our bleed control kits in schools. The response from donors has inspired her to begin her own charity, which is truly amazing. I’m pleased to see Fereday’s First Response collaborating with Turtle Medical, which already produces our bleed control kits, as having defibs and bleed kits together in public cabinets is fantastic for communities.”
“We work closely and on a personal level with many of our customers, but Emily’s work to raise money has really stood out. Every few days she’s been back to say she can purchase another bleed control kit and now we’re proud to support her mission with her not-for-profit Fereday’s First Response.”
Schools wanting to fundraise for equipment themselves can request a fundraising pack from Turtle Medical here, containing posters and useful social media content.
The Daniel Baird Foundation bleed control kits can be purchased here or donations can be made directly to the Foundation.
Locked and unlocked publicly accessible bleed cabinets in which to house the medical equipment can also be purchased from Turtle Medical.
For more information about The Daniel Baird Foundation, visit www.controlthebleed.org.uk.
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