BOONE, Iowa—The American Heart Association, a global force for healthier lives for all, joined Fareway Stores to provide YSS of Boone County with a CPR & First Aid Anywhere Training Kit. The kit will be used to train staff, youth and families the lifesaving skills of CPR and first aid.

Fareway announced the gift at the Greater Des Moines Heart Ball in June. As a

Community Sponsor, Fareway works with the Association to take its mission into the community and save lives in Central Iowa.

“YSS provides an invaluable service to Iowa’s youth and Fareway is proud to collaborate with the American Heart Association to provide this CPR & First Aid Anywhere Training Kit,” Fareway President, Garrett Piklapp said. “This kit has the potential to create hundreds of lifesavers within the YSS and Greater Boone County community.”

The Association’s CPR & First Aid Anywhere Training Kits are designed to meet group training needs and can be facilitated by anyone, anytime, anywhere. The kit contains everything needed to train up to 20 people at once.

Headquartered in Ames with locations across the state, YSS is one of Iowa’s oldest and largest youth-serving nonprofits.

“Providing education to build healthy minds and bodies is central to the work we do, so we are excited for the opportunity to educate the YSS community on lifesaving skills such as CPR and first aid,” said Andrew Allen, president and CEO of YSS. “We’re pleased to collaborate with Fareway and the American Heart Association to help our state’s youth stand strong.”

More than 350,000 cardiac arrests occur outside of the hospital each year. If administered immediately, CPR – or cardiopulmonary resuscitation – can double or triple an individual’s chances of survival. The American Heart Association is a worldwide leader in first aid, CPR and AED training, educating more than 22 million people globally in CPR each year.

In addition to providing CPR training and education throughout the region, the Association’s Des Moines market also supports a first-of-its-kind kiosk at the Jordan Creek Town Center in West Des Moines. The kiosk teaches the essentials of Hands-Only CPR in about five minutes and is one of only 36 in the country.

From left to right: Wesley Franklin, community impact director, American Heart Association Des Moines; Emily Toribio, director of corporate outreach and communications, Fareway Stores; Garrett Piklapp, president, Fareway Stores; Angela Hilbert, executive director, American Heart Association Des Moines; Jeannette Flynn, Boone County Center Director, YSS; Evelyn Flynn, daughter of Jeannette Flynn; Cassie Musser, MS, tLMHC, YSS.

(contributed press release)