Wear Red for Women donates an AED to Bethany Baptist Church

December 8, 2025

Wear Red for Women, a Bothwell Foundation committee, recently donated an automated external defibrillator (AED) to Bethany Baptist Church. An AED is a small, portable device used to treat sudden cardiac arrest. According to the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation, about 350,000 cardiac arrests occur annually in the U.S., and AEDs can significantly improve outcomes if used before emergency services arrive.

Funds for the device were raised during the 2025 Wear Red for Women luncheon and auction. The committee’s goal is to place AEDs in every place people work, learn, play or pray in Pettis and Benton counties, and it has already placed or committed over 100 AEDs in the Sedalia area since the luncheon’s inception in 2020. The 2026 Wear Red for Women event is Feb. 27, 2026, tickets will be available in January.

Bethany Baptist Church received an AED from the Bothwell Foundation’s Wear Red for Women committee. Back row, from left to right, Lesley Jackson, committee member; Wayne Tucker, Church Safety Team; Marty Holdeman, Church Deacon; Scot Schultz, Church Safety Chairman; and Lauren Thiel-Payne, Bothwell Foundation executive director; front row, from left to right, Leisha Nakagawa, Bothwell Foundation specialist and volunteer coordinator; Travis Battershell, Church Pastor; and Dianne Simon, Thompson Hills Investment Corporation vice president and Wear Red Committee co-chair.
Bethany Baptist Church received an AED from the Bothwell Foundation’s Wear Red for Women committee. Back row, from left to right, Lesley Jackson, committee member; Wayne Tucker, Church Safety Team; Marty Holdeman, Church Deacon; Scot Schultz, Church Safety Chairman; and Lauren Thiel-Payne, Bothwell Foundation executive director; front row, from left to right, Leisha Nakagawa, Bothwell Foundation specialist and volunteer coordinator; Travis Battershell, Church Pastor; and Dianne Simon, Thompson Hills Investment Corporation vice president and Wear Red Committee co-chair.

Bothwell Regional Health Center is a regional health center serving west-central Missouri with state-of-the-art technology and comprehensive health and wellness services including primary care, specialty care and emergency care. For more information about Bothwell and its services, visit www.brhc.org or find us on Facebook.

Posted in News