LAMORINDA WEEKLY | Longtime Moraga resident bequeaths $200K to Rescue One


Angie Sakalay passed away on Sept. 1, 2020.Photo courtesy Tony Nuccio

As part of her lifelong commitment to give back to the community, over the past several years Moraga resident Angie Sakalay made an annual donation to the Rescue One Foundation - a nonprofit that collects and administers funds to purchase medical equipment on behalf of the Moraga-Orinda Fire District.

Sadly, Sakalay passed away on Sept. 1, 2020. In the fall, according to Rescue OneTreasurer Gregory Reams, the nonprofit was notified by her brother and trustee, Tony Nuccio, that the nonprofit was named as a beneficiary in Sakalay's trust. Last month, Rescue One learned that Sakalay had bequeathed $200,000 to the organization - the largest single donation the nonprofit has received since its inception in 1977.

"During any time, these truly significant donations enable us to grant funds to MOFD for items that may be more costly," said Rescue One president Maridel Moulton. "Rescue One has always partnered with MOFD particularly to grant funds for the purchase of `cutting edge' technologies and trainings. That reflects our founding intent when forward-thinking citizens of Moraga went door to door and raised funds to purchase a van and retrofit it to serve as our very first district ambulance while also sending two firefighters to Stanford to be trained as paramedics."

Over its 44-year history, Rescue One has purchased, with donated funds, over $580,000 in advanced medical and safety equipment, supplies, and educational services for MOFD, said Reams. Some examples included multiple LUCAS devices at $14,000 each, multiple thermal imaging cameras at $10,000 each, multiple defibrillator/monitors, ranging from $8,000 to $31,000 each, and multiple AEDs (automated external defibrillators) at $2,000 each.

In 2016, at the Moraga 24-Hour Fitness, operations manager Kiley Yeaman used an AED to revive a client who had suffered a heart attack. She had learned how to use the device during a CPR certification class. Thanks to generous donations like Sakalay's, AEDs have been installed at multiple locations throughout Lamorinda.

"The dual challenges of the pandemic and wildfires has prompted continued donations to maintain the very high quality of MOFD services so valued by our community residents," Moulton said. Rescue One is currently working with MOFD Chief Dave Winnacker "to identify the best way(s) to utilize these funds and to honor Angie."