To celebrate its 100th centennial, the Rotary Club of Tampa is giving 100 automated external defibrillators to the Tampa Police Department for its patrol cars on Wednesday.

A small ceremony will take place at 1:30 p.m. in the parking and turnaround area between Glazer Children's Museum and Tampa Museum of Art at 120 W Gasparilla Plaza..

Through its initiative Rotary Project Lifesaver, the Rotary Club hopes to raise at least $100,000 to buy and deploy enough of the AEDs to equip all of the city's patrol cars.

Statistics from the city's emergency response units show that public safety personnel responded to 288 cardiac arrest calls last year 303 in 2012.

“With that kind of need in Tampa, we feel the project to provide AEDs to the Tampa Police Department can really save lives,” Rotary Club president Wayne Critcher said. "Research shows many of these incidents happen in emergency situations in which police units may be the first responders.”

The project has been led by Rotarian William A. Gillen Jr., a Tampa attorney and former Rotary Club president. Gillen worked closely with the police department's leadership to streamline the delivery and deployment of the AEDs.

After a six-month review of the AED technology and its application in an outdoor tropical environment, the Rotary Club chose Altra Medical of Pinellas Park to purchase the AEDs from. Gillen said he anticipates the first AEDs will be received this month and will be immediately placed in patrol cars to be ready for use in sudden cardiac arrest situations.

“Police officers are often the first on scene when people are suffering from cardiac arrest, and a matter of moments can mean life or death,” Police Chief Jane Castor said. “All of us at TPD are sincerely grateful for this joint initiative with the Rotary for donating these critically important devices. There's no doubt that their vision and efforts will save lives.”

Donations to help buy more AEDs for patrol cars can be made online at Rotary Club of Tampa Project Lifesaver.