Student Philanthropy Board members filled the Interactive Learning Center to celebrate World Heart Day and educate students about the importance of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Professionals provided important information to visitors on the essential skills of life-saving measures.
The American Heart Association reported over 350,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur every year, noting bystander CPR can triple the chances of a person’s survival before hospitalization.
Board members emphasized CPR to be one of the most “valuable” skills to learn and encourage students to educate themselves on life-saving procedures.
“It’s basic life-saving skills,” fourth-year Civil Engineering major and Student Philanthropy Board member Ali Russell said. “Nobody wants to be in a situation where they freeze and don’t know what to do.”
The World Heart Day event introduced free instructional guides on approaching medical emergencies for students and started conversation about the importance of awareness on campus.
Healthcare technology company RescueStat recently partnered with Student Philanthropy Board staff to upgrade AED access on campus and give hands-on training on AED devices to event visitors.
“AEDs really need to be everywhere, because a lot of emergencies happen to a lot of different people for a lot of different reasons,” RescueStat member and Boise State alumnus Timothy Papenfuss said. “We hope that students carry this information after they graduate, and that they take interest and bring [it] with them wherever they go.”
Senior Director of Student and Recent Graduate Programs and Boise State Foundation member Sydney Montgomery explained the overall role of CPR training student philanthropy provides on campus.
“CPR is one of those skills that is an easy way to engage in philanthropy and really understand how you can make an impact on campus,” Montgomery said. “We want to debunk this idea that philanthropy is [something] that has to feel complicated or financial. It’s as easy as bettering your community and making campus feel safer.”
From scholarship assistance to supporting and raising initiative awareness, the Student Philanthropy Board notes they are dedicated to helping the campus community beyond World Heart Day.
“The Student Philanthropy Board focuses on building the philanthropic culture of Boise State,” Montgomery said. “We have a grant program that gives about $25,000 a year to student organizations wanting to create a philanthropic impact across campus; we have funded about 10 grants in the last three years.”
Students expressed their gratitude for learning and educating themselves on the skill, finding it to be “essential”.
“When learning CPR, I was a little nervous at first,” Second-year criminal justice major Trent Webb said. “But once I knew it, it just felt like I was providing for the community. Now I know that if anyone has an emergency, I can help them, and then I can also help provide knowledge to others.”
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What a beautifully written article, Samantha