Train Our Everyday Heroes

Melissa Lambert used her CPR training to save her fiancé’s life when he collapsed on an exercise treadmill.

When Kevin Laubengayer’s two-year-old son fell into a pond, Laubengayer applied CPR and had the toddler breathing again by the time the ambulance arrived.

Abdominal thrusts from Judy Farrell dislodged a piece of a sandwich from her husband’s throat, saving his life when, according to the emergency crew, that life was down to seconds.

Scenes such as these—ordinary people performing extraordinary acts—repeat day in and day out across America because someone has been trained in CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation).

Heroes Behind the Scenes

For every life saved, there are really two heroes—the person administering the CPR and the volunteer instructor who taught that person how to do it. More than 18,000 American Red Cross volunteer instructors freely give both time and talent to teach CPR.

Sandy An is a volunteer instructor with the Preparedness and Health and Safety Department at American Red Cross national headquarters. She is also an emergency responder, firefighter and college student majoring in emergency health services. Like Mekonnen, An has witnessed first-hand the lifesaving qualities of CPR.

“The saddest experience you could have,” she says, “is to have a family member or loved one need CPR and you not being able to give it.”

An says volunteering with the Red Cross “just felt right.” She has always been interested in humanitarian work, and finds that the Red Cross mission and Fundamental Principles are similar to the values she follows in her everyday life.

This is why at the American Red Cross College Club Conference, we offered a free Citizen CPR training, as seen above,  to all attendees.  Although it's recommended that everyone gets fully certified in CPR/AED, giving all attendees the courage and know how to make a difference in a life threatening situation was an empowering moment to see. 

Join the Next Generation of Red Cross Training

American Red Cross volunteers teach hundreds of thousands of people to be lifesavers: to give a combination of chest compressions and breaths to maintain some blood flow to the heart and brain until advanced medical care can arrive on the scene; to administer abdominal thrusts if someone is choking; to use an AED (automatic external defibrillator); and more.

Get trained so you can be ready to “buy extra time” for someone whose life depends on how quickly help arrives.

CPR classes are taking place at your local Red Cross. To sign up for a class today, visit us online or call us here at the Chapter 716.886.7500.

Article courtesy of www.redcross.org