SOUTHBRIDGE, Mass. - The Worcester Community Action Council's Head Start preschool program received a donation of two AEDs Friday from the Scholastic Sports Zone Foundation.

Head Start serves more than 260 children in Southbridge and Webster. Before the donation, there was only one AED between the Southbridge and Webster locations, and Southbridge also shares theirs with Southbridge Academy.

Head Start health and nutrition coordinator Crystal Monaco said AEDs cost about $2,000 each and having them around can save a life.

"These machines are extremely expensive," Monaco said. "We know that there is a lot of maintenance that goes into them every year, so being able to get these directly from the foundation as donations is crucial to the work that we do, to the people that we serve."

"The guys that are on the board are very passionate about this," said Howie Kahn of the Scholastic Sports Zone radio show. "They all have children and nobody would ever want to see their kid go down, and through the foundation we've been able to raise some money and help out these facilities that need the AEDs."

The foundation was established by members of the Scholastic Sports Zone radio show. So far, they've donated AEDs to local high schools as well as the Head Start program.