Chad Major, president of the Professional Fire Fighters Association of Louisiana, recently presented a check for $10,000 and pledged a total of $30,000 over three years to the American Heart Association-Capital Area. This generous donation will help to implement CPR in Schools Training Kits throughout the greater Baton Rouge community. Kerin Spears, vice president of Greater Louisiana area for the American Heart Association, and her Capital Area team received the donation.
About 80% of cardiac arrests that occur outside a hospital happen at home. About 89% of those victims don’t survive because, often, people around them don’t step in to perform CPR. These community members will recognize cardiac arrest and perform lifesaving CPR, in most cases saving the life of a family member. The American Heart Association is creating a generation of lifesavers by making sure students learn CPR before they graduate.
The CPR in Schools Training Kit empowers students to learn the core skills of CPR in under 30 minutes. The kit contains everything needed to learn CPR, AED skills, and choking relief in school classroom settings. The easy-to-use kit is designed specifically for the needs of school educators, and is portable, allowing for easy movement from classroom to classroom and easy storage.
Teaching students CPR before they graduate would put thousands of qualified lifesavers in our community, year after year. For example, training 1,000 students will provide knowledge to 1,500 people with the 1.5X multiplier.
The AHA Capital Area also has CPR Anytime Kits available for companies or other organizations looking for a way to donate and save lives in our community. CPR & First Aid Anywhere Training Kit is designed to meet the needs of workplaces, community organizations, and universities and can be facilitated by anyone, anytime, anywhere. The kit contains everything needed to train 10 to 20 people at once in the lifesaving skills of CPR and first aid.
Pictured at the check presentation are, left to right, Donna Ashcraft, Sr. regional director, American Heart Association - Capital Area; Rebecca Fontenot, Heart Walk director, American Heart Association - Capital Area; Chad Major, president of the Professional Fire Fighters Association of Louisiana; Kerin Spears, vice president, American Heart Association - Capital Area; Stephanie Hughson, director, Go Red for Women, American Heart Association - Capital Area; and Emily Davis, Heart Walk director, American Heart Association - Capital Area)