30,000 Anaheim Union High School Students Equipped with Life-Saving CPR Kits

 

ANAHEIM, Calif. (Dec. 5, 2019) – Visit Anaheim, in collaboration with American Heart Association (AHA), Orange County Division, has completed its multi-year program by providing each of the eight Anaheim Union High Schools with multiple American Heart Association CPR in Schools Training Kits™. The final phase of the campaign provides the district’s remaining four high schools (John F. Kennedy, Magnolia, Savanna and Cypress) with four kits each, along with training provided by AHA to teach life-saving tactics.  

Launched in Nov. 2017, Visit Anaheim’s “Heart-to-Heart” campaign celebrates and supports AHA’s mission to help educate and train individuals to fight heart disease. The campaign was created to give back to the residents of Anaheim by providing life-saving CPR skills and education to local high school students. Katella and Anaheim High Schools received the kits in the program’s inaugural year. Loara and Western High Schools were the recipients in the second year. With the completion of the campaign, more than 30,000 students are now enabled with lifesaving CPR skills.

“Visit Anaheim is honored to give back to our community and also invest in our future - it’s a fundamental part of what we do as an organization. The “Heart-to-Heart” campaign has now furnished all Anaheim Union High Schools with life-saving kits, and I’m so excited that our multi-year effort has come to fruition,” said Jay Burress, president and chief executive officer, Visit Anaheim. “The idea for the campaign was inspired by American Heart Association’s decision to host their 2017 Scientific Sessions at the Anaheim Convention Center after a 16-year absence. The program celebrates them and their mission to help educate and train our future to fight heart disease.”

According to the Orange County Health Profile, heart disease is the leading cause of death in Orange County, Calif. Roughly 70 percent of cardiac arrests that occur outside a hospital, occur at home and 90 percent of those victims do not survive due to people around them not knowing how to administer CPR. Education and CPR training is the best defense in preventing the devastating effects of heart disease. By providing Anaheim high school students with CPR training, the hope is that more lives will be saved in Anaheim and Orange County.

“Thanks to the incredible generosity of Visit Anaheim, Anaheim high school students now have the ability to save a life,” said Danielle Sapia-Fragalla, Executive Director of the American Heart Association, Orange County Division. “We now look to further increase the survival rates of people experiencing cardiac arrest.”

“Anaheim Union High School District is very thankful to the American Heart Association and Visit Anaheim for their generous gift of CPR kits to all of our high schools,” said Patricia Hatcher, Health Curriculum Specialist, Anaheim Union High School District. “This donation will provide training for more than 30,000 students in critical emergency lifesaving procedures. We’re proud to know that our students may be able to save a life in the future.”

 

Heart-to-Heart Campaign Details

In collaboration with American Heart Association, Orange County Division, Visit Anaheim’s Heart-to Heart campaign has equipped all eight Anaheim Union High Schools with the life-saving CPR kits.  AHA will also facilitate a CPR demonstration to each school’s faculty to ensure proper CPR training is offered to students. Each CPR kit includes 10 mannequins to train up to 20 students at one time.

CPR in Schools Training Kit Information

The American Heart Association's CPR in Schools Training Kit™ enables students to learn the lifesaving skills of CPR in just one class period. Plus, the kit teaches AED use and choking relief. The easy-to-use kit is designed specifically for the needs of schools. The kit’s brand new wheeled bag allows for convenient movement from classroom to classroom and easy storage. It’s also reusable – one kit can train hundreds of people.

 

Visit Anaheim Giveback Efforts

Anaheim is a premier destination for meetings and conventions attracting nearly one million convention attendees per year. Many of the events and trade shows hosting meetings at the Anaheim Convention Center and surrounding hotels incorporate give-back programs that positively impact the community. Engaging in philanthropic projects that serve the residents of Anaheim and surrounding Orange County continue to benefit the local community long after convention attendees and visitors return home. For more information on Visit Anaheim’s giveback efforts, go to visitanaheim.org.

Visit Anaheim Contact:
Lindsay Swanson, Communications Manager
lswanson@visitanaheim.org
(714) 765-2928

About Visit Anaheim: 
Founded in 1961, Visit Anaheim is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit destination marketing organization. Visit Anaheim’s mission is to develop, market, and sell Anaheim to benefit the economic vitality of its neighborhoods. To learn more about Visit Anaheim, visit: www.visitanaheim.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

###