LAKEWOOD RANCH, Fla (February 3, 2025) – For the second year, Neal Communities recently donated $10,000 donation to the Defibrillate Manatee Foundation to help the foundation provide 40 defibrillators to the Palmetto Police Department. This donation follows last year’s assistance which helped to supply the Manatee County School District with 21 AEDs and the Bradenton Police Department with an additional 10 AEDs. Each defibrillator costs $1,699.
Neal Communities was inspired to become involved by the story of Ernie Withers who went into cardiac arrest at the Pittsburgh Pirates spring training complex in Bradenton and was saved by a Pirates doctor, who performed CPR and a trainer, who used an automated external defibrillator to resuscitate him. This experience moved Withers to create a nonprofit foundation, Defibrillate Manatee Foundation, that has donated AEDs to local businesses, schools and police.
“Providing defibrillators to local schools and law enforcement is a noble cause and Neal Communities is proud to play a part in that effort,” says Katie Alderman, Community Affairs Coordinator for Neal Communities. “Last year, our employees also took action, with approximately 75 members of our team undergoing training to learn how to perform CPR and learn how to operate an AED.”
