WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Forest Hill Community High School's Army JROTC program has a new initiative called "1, 2, 3 Clear!"
The Foxtrot Fighters led by Master Sergeant Margarita Bonner are aiming to place more AEDs (cardiac defibrillators) on campus and throughout the community.
"AEDs are important and without them, the students and staff in schools are defenseless from heart attacks and strokes," Cadet Rafael Ordonez said. "There are more than 360,000 deaths in the U.S. every year from cardiac arrests and with your help we could cut that number down enough to leave a lasting effect on the generations to come."
"After learning about the Damar Hamlin incident, we learned that the sheer amount of deaths and accidents that are caused by sudden cardiac arrest not just in the community but in high schools by athletes, one in 80,000 high school athletes have the risk of cardiac arrest. And within you consider that there are 8 million high school athletes each year that participate in sports. It's no surprise that sudden cardiac arrest is the leading cause of death for high school athletes in America," said Lt. Michael Paez.
To donate to the initiative, click here or email margarita.bonner@palmbeachschools.org.
