The purpose of the annual Mineola Mustang Run is to raise money for various organizations that benefit the community through a 5K run/walk that has become Mineola's biggest fund raiser. The Mineola Mustang Run Committee has apparently already found a worthy cause to donate the proceeds that will be earned during this November's run.

The Mineola Mustang Run Committee will be donating $3,000 to the Mineola Volunteer Ambulance Corps (MVAC) for the purposes of buying a new Heartstart FR2 Defibrillator, a device used to saved the lives of cardiac arrest victims.

The Mustang Run Committee's gesture came after MVAC received $1,000 from Prudential through its Helping Hearts program to purchase a new defibrillator. However, the MVAC still needed funds for the portable machine so the Mineola Mustang Run Committee stepped in so that the device could be purchased.

A check for $3,000 was presented by the Mustang Run Committee to MVAC on July 24. The money is an advance on the funds that will be raised during the Mineola Mustang Run, scheduled for November 18, 2001. "Donation was done immediately so that the entire community could benefit," said Mustang Run Coordinator Linda Fairgrieve, who is also a trustee for the Village of Mineola.

According to the National Center for Early Defibrillation, sudden cardiac arrest does not have to result in sudden death. If the heart can be shocked quickly with a defibrillator, a normal heart rhythm may be restored. The key is quickness and that's why the portable defibrillator the MVAC will purchase is so valuable.

Other organizations that will benefit from the Mustang Run include the Mineola Fire Department, Mineola Athletic Association, Mineola Youth and Family Services, the Mineola Historical Society and the Mineola Auxiliary Police.

Last year, a contribution from the Mustang Run to the Mineola Fire Department went toward the purchase of a camera that allows firefighters to see images in the dark and perhaps save potential victims who are trapped in a burning building.

Currently, major sponsors are being sought for the Mustang Run. Any company or person interested in becoming a major sponsor will have their name, address and phone number printed on a journal to be distributed to each home in Mineola and to each walker and runner. Major sponsors will also be printed on 1,300 shirts and 30,000 applications to be distributed throughout the metropolitan area.

Any person or business wishing to become a major sponsor or wanting additional information can contact Linda Fairgrieve at 294-5914 or Dolores LaCourte, treasurer, at 747-6045.

Volunteers of all ages (whether runner/walkers or not) are needed. If interested, call Dolores or Linda and any walker or runner wanting an application can also call Linda or Dolores.