A new partnership with Athletes for America includes educating and training
young athletes to handle emergency situations.

National charity will train chapters in CPR and other life-saving skills.

July 25, 2012

WASHINGTON—The NFL Players Association Former Players pledge full support for Athletes for America (AFA), Andre Collins, NFLPA Director of Former Players Services, announced today.

AFA is a national, 501(c)(3), not-for-profit charity dedicated to educating, training and certifying high school, college and professional athletes in the life-saving skills of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and the use of an Automated External Defibrillator (AED). The charity is also highly focused on getting AEDs onto every playing field and into every athletic facility in America. Last year, 325,000 Americans died of Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA), making it a leading cause of death in the United States.

“Athletes have been impacted by Sudden Cardiac Arrest both on and off the field of play,” Collins said. “Knowing that Athletes for America is dedicated to getting our young athletes educated and trained to handle emergency situations is a tremendous opportunity for former players to mentor. Creating a greater awareness around SCA is our goal.”

On Sept. 8, 2012, NFLPA Former Player Chapters will participate in a national day of training to become certified in CPR and the use of an AED. Once trained, the chapters will continue to raise awareness in their local communities creating outreach training opportunities for high school, college and professional teams. “As a direct result of our relationship with AFA, lives will undoubtedly be saved,” Collins added.

“It is an honor to work with the NFLPA and its Former Players on our national initiative,” Billy McGehee, AFA founder, said in a statement. “With their participation, we will accelerate our efforts to get more of our young athletes trained and certified. With the power of their voices, we will continue to raise the awareness around SCA all across America. Every three days, an athlete dies from SCA, and that is simply unacceptable. In addition, nearly 1,000 Americans die each day from SCA; that’s one person every 1-2 minutes. Imagine the difference it will make in our country when one day every high school, college and professional athlete is trained to save a life. That is the ultimate goal of Athletes for America.”

For more information, please contact Andre Collins at 1-800-372-2000