Diva Legend Donna Moore gave back to the community that loves her so much with a Friday night of great music, laughter and fun at a benefit concert for The Villages’ Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). The nearly sold-out concert was held at North Lake Presbyterian Church.
Moore spoke of her reasons for supporting CERT.
“I honestly feel that CERT training should be required classes for all of us. We all need to know how to help one another in a stroke or heart attack situation, while waiting for the first responders. We still need much more funding for these classes to be taught and funding for equipment needed. There are presently, in The Villages, many residents who have had the training and they are all around us at various events. We need more though.”
Lynn Miller, elder of Pastoral Care at North Lake, started the evening with a prayer and then introduced CERT Commander David Bussone.
He expressed gratitude for the success of the event, mentioning “how fortunate we are to have this facility, this beautiful church and sound system; so lucky to have Donna Moore.”
He said the turnout was outstanding.
“We do more than just respond to very significant events. We teach your neighbors CPR and how to use a defibrillator and the Heimlich maneuver. We provide first aid to the squares if it’s needed. We watch out for you at events like the Alzheimer’s walk, and we’re an all volunteer organization.”
CERT is a joint partnership with the Villages Public Safety Department. CERT volunteers are trained to respond to emergency situations. CERT raises money to pay for this training; training costs are $100 a person. A class scheduled for October 2016 already has 30 residents registered.
Learn more about CERT at www.certofthevillages.org
