Inaugural Stephen Dupuis Community Building Award

GREATER TORONTO — The Mikey Network, a charity founded by friends and colleagues of the late Michael Salem of the Heron Group of Companies and Heathwood Homes, was honoured with the inaugural Stephen Dupuis Community Building Award at the 32nd annual BILD Awards.
“To hear that every 12 minutes someone experiences sudden cardiac arrest in Canada, it can make you feel helpless, but The Mikey Network and its mission to place public access defibrillators in as many high-risk locations as possible gives everyone a chance to help,” said BILD Chair Paul Golini Jr. “This is a great example of a BILD member committed to community building through exceptional charitable and community involvement.”
The Mikey Network was created after Salem, 56, died of sudden cardiac arrest while golfing in 2002. His friends and associates say they started the charity in his memory to offer others the second chance at life he never got. So far, more than 1,200 defibrillators—dubbed MIKEYs—have saved 13 lives.
In addition, the Network has teamed up with Toronto EMS to train staff, Toronto Police Services to install 70 MIKEYs in their stations and with GO Transit to place 100 MIKEYs on trains and at stations. As well, more than 250 MIKEYs have been placed in schools within the Toronto District Secondary, Halton District, Halton Catholic and Limestone District School Boards and three students’ lives have been saved.
A MIKEY has been installed at the BILD headquarters.
The Stephen Dupuis Community Building Award gives BILD the opportunity to recognize a member company or individual committed to community building through exceptional charitable/community involvement.