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Crime & Safety

Ambulance Service of Manchester Stays Active in Community

The Ambulance Service of Manchester received a philanthropic award after they helped out a sports camp for kids with disabilities.

When thinking about the Ambulance Service of Manchester, some people will automatically think about the company responding to 911 calls. However, the ambulance service helps out in other ways in the community, as they have contributed to several charitable causes and will continue to do so in the future.

Most recently, the ambulance service gave the Hospital for Special Care a generous donation, which went towards the hospital’s sports camp for children with disabilities, which was held last week at St. Joseph's College in West Hartford.

As a result of their donation to the Ivan Lendl Adaptive Sports Camp, the ambulance service was honored as a Philanthropic Business. The Ambulance Service of Manchester’s President Wayne Wright accepted the honor on Friday, August 12.

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“We have partnered with the Hospital for Special Care for over 10 years, and we try to help out with anything we can,” David Skoczulek, who is the director of business development and community relations at the Ambulance Service of Manchester, said. “The sports camp they have each year is with kids utilizing wheelchairs, and they make it very rigorous and truly challenging all week. It is a really excellent camp.”

This sports camp for kids with disabilities was an all-day camp from August 8 to 12 at St. Joseph’s College in West Hartford. The free camp had a variety of sports, including tennis, basketball, soccer, swimming, bowling, track and field, among other activities.

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Janet Connolly, the camp director, said that all of the activities are adapted to meet the physical needs of the children.

“It gets kids really excited about sports,” Connolly said. “They get expert instruction from world class athletes who have been in national and international competitions, and then the former tennis star Ivan Lendl comes by on the last day to spend time with the kids.”

Linda Glovna, the director of development at the Hospital for Special Care, said the camp is free of charge because of contributions from organizations like the ambulance service.

“Without our corporate partners, the camp wouldn’t be here,” Glovna said. “The Ambulance Service of Manchester has been very loyal and supportive to us, and we cannot thank them enough.”

Skoczulek and Wright of the ambulance service went to the camp’s luncheon on August 12 to receive the award for their donation. Skoczulek said that the award was presented by Hospital for Special Care President and CEO David Crandall and tennis legend Ivan Lendl, who has been a long term supporter of the camp. In addition, there were 40 registered campers, counselors, trainers, other staff and their families at the presentation.

“There are many supportive and adaptive services out there, but I can think of few things that could reach these kids better than sports,” Wright said.

In addition to the sports camp, the ambulance played an instrumental role in fundraising efforts for the , which was completed in early August.

Skoczulek is a member of the Rotary Club of Manchester, and he said he was representing the ambulance service when he helped raise the money for the memorial garden and sculpture, while also raising funds to donate to the victims’ families.

The memorial garden and sculpture was unveiled Aug. 3, one year after the deadly shooting took place at the beer distributor’s Chapel Road property. There are eight stainless steel pillars connected by a braided aluminum tube to represent the eight employees who lost their lives that day.

The Ambulance Service of Manchester plans to continue its community involvement through the fall and winter months as well.

In the weeks before Thanksgiving, the service will be involved in a food drive called the Emergency of Hunger Food Drive. This November 12, 13, 19 and 20, the Ambulance Service of Manchester will be outside the Stop & Shop on Broad Street, where they will ask customers to purchase food items and donate them to the food drive.

This event is the same food drive that they participated in last year, as they collected food and money for the Manchester Area Conference of Churches (MACC). Manchester competed with Vernon to see who could raise more money and food items. Vernon was able to come out on top, as both towns collectively raised 32,574 food items and 1,735 turkeys.

“It was a phenomenal amount of food and money for the food banks,” Skoczulek said. “This year we are looking to add a third town, including their Rotary Club, their police department, fire department, EMS agency and hospital.”

Another ambulance service charity event during the holiday season is the toy drive, which happens in the week before Christmas. During the “Stuff a Cruiser” toy drive, the ambulance service partners with the Connecticut State Police Troop H to collect thousands of toys for children at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center.

At last year’s toy drive, approximately 55,000 toys were collected. Troopers and ambulance crews volunteered more than 200 hours, as they collected toys, games and stuffed animals outside Toys R Us stores in Manchester, Newington and West Hartford.

The drive provides a toy for every child who receives care at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center’s Emergency Department this year. In addition to the toys, the event raised more than $15,350 to support the Children's Medical Center's emergency department.

“We want the community to know that we do more than an ambulance service,” Skoczulek said. “We want to be involved in the local area, and we want people to identify with us like they do with the fire and police departments.”

For more information on the Ambulance Service of Manchester, log on to https://www.ambulanceservicemanchester.com/.

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