The Compress and Shock Foundation has proposed a collaborative partnership with your
CrossFit box to provide free CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and AED (automated external defibrillator) education at your box on June 1, 2024.

• The proposal involves a request to engage an underserved community that would participate in the education on June 1.

• ​The Compress and Shock Foundation will provide a free AED to that underserved community on behalf of your box.

•  Our collaborative goal is to establish a yearly event every 1 st Saturday in June such that each CrossFit box opens their doors to an underserved community to bring the CPR/AED education and an AED they would often not be able to access otherwise.

• This information is provided so that you can consider supporting your CrossFit box by potentially identifying and engaging that underserved community, attending the training June 1 and bringing your family/friends/coworkers or even serving as one of the instructors on June 1.

Compress and Shock Foundation Background
 

Since 2017, the Roanoke, Virginia based 501c3 non-profit Compress and Shock (C&S) Foundation [https://www.compressandshock.org/] has worked to bring free and equitable access to CPR and AED education to all communities with a specific dedication to those communities most adversely affected by cardiac arrest due to race, ethnicity, primary language, or access to healthcare education.  We are the only non-profit in the United States that uses an AED access model to give AEDs to communities that align with our mission statement along with free CPR and AED education. We are inviting CrossFit Affiliates to partner with our Foundation to save lives in their community.

Why Is This Collaboration Important?

 Neurologically intact (normal brain function) survival from cardiac arrest is 10%.
Survival is worse for victims who are non-white, live in rural locations, do not speak
English as their primary language, and those who live in economically disadvantaged
regions. Every victim of cardiac arrest is simply a person who deserves an equal chance
to return to their loved ones. Our Foundation exists to improve survival for everyone
while focusing on those communities that do not have equal access to CPR/AED
education and have far less access to AEDs.
 Founding principles of CrossFit involve community, altruism, and improving the health
of its members. This partnership provides an annual opportunity for each box to teach
their members how to save lives while bringing this education to underserved local
populations.

Logistical Details of the CPR and AED Education

 Our class is a 60-minute long, compression only CPR and AED education course
specifically designed for the layperson (the public). The course consists of an
instructional PowerPoint presentation followed by hands-on practice. While most
classes are adult only education, we have some adult/child/infant classes.
 Classes are open to anyone 13 and older.
 We never certify (see FAQs), formal certification is a ‘barrier’ to educating the public
and our curriculum meets or exceeds any comparable American Heart Association (AHA)
training.