Ryan J. Clarke CPR Fund for Schools
A Memorial Non-Profit
EIN 45-2809396
National CPR Day is Coming June 7, 2012. Please go to the "News and Updates" page to see what we are doing.
*****Previously I had posted that we were completing the school year having certified approximately 2600 students. Ok, things change we will be teaching and certifying an additional 350 in south San Luis Obispo County. That will bring us up to close to 3000!!. Ryan would be so proud.*******
Today March 17, 2012 is the 1st anniversary of my son's passing. It is no less painful than before. I love you Ryan.
Ryan Justus Clarke, died on March 17, 2011 at the age of 30 years and 3 days, due to sudden cardiac arrest. He was in excellent physical condition and had no previous signs or symptoms. It all happened in just a few short minutes. He even worked all day, feeling fine. My husband, Jerry and I have established a non-profit in my son’s name. Ryan worked for Cal Fire for 5 years as a Firefighter 1 and EMT. Due to the economy, he was not rehired and started working as a machinist. All he ever wanted to do was to fight fires and save lives. The non-profit has been formulated to teach CPR/AED/First Aid to high school and middle school aged children free of charge. After teaching the class, every one of these students that pass the class will be certified by EMS Safety, a nationally recognized program that follows the guidelines of American Heart Assoc. and American Red Cross. We have already agreed to train over fifteen hundred students (so far) for the 2011-2012 school year.
The bottom line is, the more money we raise, the more students we can teach and the more lives will be saved in the future.
There are and never will be any paid employees. 100% of all contributions will go directly to the non-profit for the purpose of teaching these skills, purchasing required equipment/materials and paying certification fees to EMS Safety or the American Red Cross. Your donation will help. DONATIONS ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE!
In San Luis Obispo County the current survival rate from sudden cardiac arrest is between 5% and 7%. We want to raise the survival rate to at least 47%. The cities of Seattle and Houston have raised their survival rate to this number by doing mass CPR training. That is what our goal is. I DO NOT want anyone else to die of this affliction. It isn't fair. It strikes people so young and so good. Please help us to save lives!
You'll hear plenty of Irish music within this site. Ryan wasn't Irish but he loved everything Irish; from music to pubs. Especially pubs!
What is SCA? (Sudden Cardiac Arrest)
The affliction that struck Ryan was NOT a heart attack. There is a big difference between a heart attack and SCA. SCA is an electrical malfunction within the heart causing it to go into fibrillation. Once the heart is in fibrillation, it is no longer working. It is just vibrating and not pumping blood. The only way to help a person who has been struck with SCA is with CPR to sustain life until an AED becomes available. The AED is used to stop the heart (or interrupt this electrical malfunction) for less than a second and allowing it to restart in an organized rhythm. It is kinda like rebooting the computer, you turn it off, then back on so it will work correctly. A heart attack is a blockage of blood flow to the heart causing the heart to go into fibrillation due to the lack of blood entering the chambers. For Ryan, an AED was not available for about 6 minutes. He had lost more than a 60% chance of survival. It is not age selective and can strike infants through the elderly. Athletes are the ones we most commonly hear of it happening to. Within the U.S there are over 300,000 deaths from SCA a year. Of that number, over 7000 are children under the age of 18.
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Contact us at rjccprfund@gmail.com
Mary Winokur
1707 Canyon Crest Lane
Paso Robles, CA. 93446
805-238-7438
