• By donating five defibrillators to the YMCA of Hartford, Hartford Hospital is launching a campaign to arm neighbors with the skill and technology to save a life. The hospital aims to make Greater Hartford one of the safer locales in which to have a cardiac arrest. Dr. Justin Lundbye and Dr. Steven Zweibel, cardiologists at Hartford Hospital, are leading the effort in collaboration with the Connecticut “HEARTsafe Community” program of the state Department of Public Health and the American Heart Association. The hospital is donating AEDs and first responder training to the community. About 44 out of 169 communities in the Connecticut are considered Heart Safe, but Hartford is not formally labeled one of those.
• Joe Sparveri, a partner with Kostin, Ruffkess & Company LLC, a Farmington-based certified public accounting and consulting firm, is one of the top fundraisers for the 2010 Ride Across America. The event, organized by the Connecticut Sports Foundation Against Cancer, is a six-hour indoor cycling event simulating a ride from Connecticut to California and back. Sparveri captured the top fundraising spot, by raising $6,990. His cycling team came in second by generating $9,115 in donations. The foundation is in its 23rd year of providing financial assistance to cancer patients and their families. This year’s event generated more than $82,269 in total.
• Residents can help U.S. troops overseas to stay connected with their loved ones through a project with two local funeral homes. Ladd-Turkington & Carmon Funeral Home, 551 Talcottville Road in Vernon and Ladd Funeral Home, 19 Ellington Ave. in Rockville are part of the “Cell Phones for Soldiers” national collection drive. People can bring their old cell phones (of any type or age) to the funeral homes. The donated phones will be sent to ReCellular, which pays Cell Phones for Soldiers for each phone, enough to provide an hour of talk time to soldiers abroad.
• More than 1,600 consumers have already taken advantage of the state’s energy efficient appliance rebate program, which is funded by $3.4 million in federal stimulus. Since its start on Jan. 25, the program has paid out more than $137,000 in rebates. The most popular appliance purchases have been clothes washers (822) and refrigerators (447). Connecticut is one of only 14 states that have active Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate programs. The program will continue as long as funds are available. The average turnaround time for a rebate check has been four to six weeks after purchase.
