Hands-Only CPR Saves Another Life

Stater Bros. Charities is teaming up once again with the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association (AHA/ASA) for the 15th year of the “Have a Heart, Save a Heart” campaign to raise awareness and funds to fight heart disease and stroke, America’s No. 1 and No. 5 killers. Last year “Have a Heart, Save a Heart” raised $385,319 by selling $1 and $5 paper hearts at registers in Stater Bros. supermarkets throughout Southern California. The campaign has raised over $4.6 million for the fight against heart disease and stroke since it launched in 2002. This year’s campaign will feature the Brennan Family from Temecula. A year ago, Alicia Brennan saved her husband’s life when he collapsed after jogging. Jacob Brennan suffered a type of heart attack also known as “the widow maker”, and Alicia’s prompt reaction, immediately applying hands-only CPR, saved his life. The family of five–-they have three teenagers--have become CPR advocates and Alicia and her youngest son, Joshua, have helped train 1,000 students at the local high school where she coaches soccer and he is a student. The Brennan’s story will be on display at 168 Stater Bros. supermarkets, where customers can make donations and dedicate a paper heart in honor or memory of a loved one. Funds raised through the “Have A Heart, Save A Heart” campaign will be invested locally to teach hands-only CPR to Inland Empire residents, involve students in fitness programs like “Jump Rope For Heart” or “Hoops For Heart”, and implement educational programs in multi-cultural communities. “Like the Brennan’s, Stater Bros. Charities also wants to be proactive in bringing awareness to our consumers about these two deadly diseases,” commented Pete Van Helden, president and chief operating officer of Stater Bros. Markets. “We are grateful to Stater Bros. for their continued commitment to saving lives,” said Mike Bolen, Chairman of the AHA/ASA Western States Affiliate Board of Directors. “Through this campaign, we are raising critical funds needed to find better ways to prevent and treat heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases. We are also reaching thousands of customers with information that will help them take positive steps for their health.”