Curated News
By: NewsRamp Editorial Staff
October 16, 2025
American Heart Association Launches CPR Grants for Student Clubs
TLDR
- The American Heart Association's new grant program gives 40 schools a competitive advantage by equipping them with lifesaving CPR training and emergency response resources.
- The American Heart Association provides grants including CPR kits, AED simulators, and funding to help schools develop cardiac emergency response plans and train students and faculty.
- This initiative makes communities safer by empowering students with lifesaving skills and working toward doubling cardiac arrest survival rates by 2030.
- Learning Hands-Only CPR takes just 90 seconds and can double or triple a person's chance of surviving cardiac arrest outside hospitals.
Impact - Why it Matters
This initiative directly addresses the critical gap in cardiac emergency response that claims hundreds of thousands of lives annually. With 9 out of 10 people dying from out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, often because bystanders lack CPR training, this program creates a generational shift in emergency preparedness. By targeting educational institutions, it builds a foundation where lifesaving skills become as commonplace as fire safety knowledge. The impact extends beyond school campuses—students trained through these programs become empowered community members who can respond effectively in homes, workplaces, and public spaces. This represents a crucial step toward creating a society where immediate, effective CPR is available when needed most, potentially doubling or tripling survival rates and saving countless lives in communities nationwide.
Summary
The American Heart Association has launched an ambitious new grant program on World Restart a Heart Day, targeting 40 high school and college Heart Clubs across the United States. These student-led organizations, which have grown to over 250 groups nationwide since their inception in the 2024-2025 school year, will receive comprehensive support to enhance cardiac emergency preparedness on their campuses. The initiative represents a significant expansion of the Association's Nation of Lifesavers movement, which aims to dramatically improve survival rates from out-of-hospital cardiac arrests by 2030. Through these strategic investments, the organization hopes to transform how communities respond to cardiac emergencies and build a culture where CPR training becomes as fundamental as other essential life skills.
College Heart Clubs can apply for twenty available grants that include funding for two comprehensive CPR in Schools Kits, complete with training manikins, AED simulators, and educational materials, plus $500 to facilitate campus-wide CPR training programs. Meanwhile, twenty high school grants offer up to $4,500 per school to develop comprehensive Cardiac Emergency Response Plans, provide credentialed CPR First Aid AED training for students and faculty, and advocate for public policies that enhance school safety. The application process is designed to be accessible—no prior CPR credentialing is required, and all registered Heart Clubs with faculty advisors are encouraged to apply by the November 20 deadline, with winners announced on December 8.
The urgency behind this initiative is underscored by sobering statistics: more than 350,000 cardiac arrests occur outside hospitals annually, and approximately 90% of these victims die, often because immediate CPR isn't administered in over half of cases. As Dr. Stacey E. Rosen, volunteer president of the American Heart Association, emphasized, "Learning CPR should be a part of our culture, like getting your driver's license, or going to prom." The Association, recognized as the global leader in resuscitation science and education, will release newly updated CPR clinical guidelines on October 22, further strengthening the scientific foundation for these life-saving efforts. Through this comprehensive approach combining education, resources, and policy advocacy, the program aims to ensure that anyone, anywhere can become a vital link in the chain of survival when cardiac emergencies strike.
Source Statement
This curated news summary relied on content disributed by NewMediaWire. Read the original source here, American Heart Association Launches CPR Grants for Student Clubs
