World Restart a Heart Day was a resounding success with thousands of people trained in lifesaving cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and thousands raised for the South Central Ambulance Charity.
For the first time since the COVID pandemic, SCAS Charity volunteers and staff went into schools across Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire and Oxfordshire to train secondary school students in how to carry out CPR and use a defibrillator.
With a few of the 50+ schools still to report their final numbers, there were 7,619 students trained as part of the World Restart a Heart Day initiative.
World Restart a Heart Day took place on Wednesday, 16 October; the same day that Tania and Richard Cheale began an epic 96-mile walk along the Kennet & Avon Canal from Bristol to Reading. The couple were raising funds for the SCAS Charity to purchase a new LUCAS 3 (chest compression system) device. Having completed the walk on Saturday, 19 October, their efforts have so far raised £10,383, and with a final Christmas fundraising event still to go, they’re confident they will get to their £12,000 target.
On Thursday, 17 October, at 10am a 24-hour CPR-A-THON began at 100 Brook Drive, Green Park in Reading, with teams of between 6-8 people carrying out good quality chest compressions on training mannequins for 24 hours. Thanks to the generous support of local businesses and individuals, the event raised an incredible £14,000 for the SCAS Charity.
