Number #77
Giants Foundation & American Heart Association Train 12 NJ Schools on CPR/AED
Featured Focus:
Health & Wellness, Community Programs, Partnerships for Good
Scope of Impact: Local
The Giants Foundation teamed up with the American Heart Association to equip local schools with vital CPR skills, kits, and resources. This collaboration aims to improve outcomes during cardiac emergencies within the community. Here’s the breakdown:
The Stakes: The initiative tackles the grim reality that most out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCAs) are fatal, largely due to delayed or absent bystander CPR. Immediate CPR can double or triple survival chances, yet it's performed less than half the time.
The Action: This program directly confronts that statistic by building a network of trained responders where they live and learn. Representatives from 12 New Jersey schools received hands-on CPR and AED training at MetLife Stadium on March 20, 2025. These resources will enable the schools to train hundreds more students, faculty, staff, and parents back on campus.
The Context: This move aligns strategically with the NFL's Smart Heart Sports Coalition, aiming to amplify these efforts following Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin's on-field cardiac arrest last year.
This Giants Foundation and American Heart Association collaboration brings clarity and impact to an issue that needed more awareness and preparedness. By targeting school ecosystems, the initiative touches the community at-large, and multiplies its impact in the near and long terms.
We love the two grounding insights from this campaign: nearly 40% of youth cardiac arrests are sports-related, and research confirms that youth can effectively learn and retain CPR skills. Putting them at the center of the solution ensures that they act as force multipliers by sharing knowledge with family and friends. The work from the NFL's Smart Heart Sports Coalition leverages the league's platform to advocate for evidence-based, life-saving policies in schools nationwide.
YOUR NEXT PLAY:
This campaign could have just been a PSA, but instead, the Giants dug deeper to ensure that it would have real life impact for their entire New Jersey community for years to come. We love they they took this extra step, and we challenge you to push the envelope when thinking about your own initiatives. How can you and your partners do more to make sure your next effort goes beyond just driving awareness, to actually taking action? In the Giants’ case, the difference could literally save lives.
Official page detailing the NY Giants Foundation's mission, programs, and community work.
Another news report summarizing the Giants Foundation and AHA’s CPR training initiative for 12 New Jersey schools.
Details on the American Heart Association’s program providing CPR/AED training kits and resources for schools..
An article from UC Davis explains sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) impact on youth, schools, and the importance of CPR/AEDs..
The NFL-backed coalition advocates for policies to prevent SCA) deaths in youth sports.
Results from a research study that analyzed the positive impact of CPR training on school-aged kids' knowledge, and attitudes, toward the lifesaving skill.
