The NOLA Network

September is Hispanic Heritage Month & at the The NOLA Network, we’d like to highlight two bilingual community health workers who have worked closely with us to support our efforts to improve access to services. Thank you Ami & Marob for all you do & for being a part of our network.

Thank you Fort Valley State University for your commitment to keeping your student athletes safe!

Together with whoweplayfor and FVU coaching & training staff, we screened nearly 300 students & a few staff as well. We’re proud of our collaboration that allows us increase access to preventative heart screening attending HBCU’s. Together, we work to keep hearts beating…for every kid who never had the opportunity.

We’d like to send a very happy birthday out to one of our treasured team members, Tabitha Wright!

Tab is a small business owner & community champion, who joined our board after retiring from a long, illustrious career at Clemson University. Prior to joining our board, she volunteered with us for over two years and now serves as Treasurer within our Executive Committee. And shortly after joining, she found out that she & other family members suffer from HCM-the condition that caused Vari’s SCA. She was already an avid supporter, but her own experience has made her an even fiercer ally as she works to advocate for others & amplify our work to saves lives through our Keep the Beat Project.

Thank you, Tab, for all you do! We honor you today & all days. Happy birthday! ❤️

The City of Seneca & Mayor Dan Alexander are hosting an amazing summer camp July 22-26. We’re excited to announce that among the amazing activities they have planned, we will be onsite offering preventative heart screenings to interested participants. Please register to attend today! ❤️

Here’s 6 quick facts about us! Learn more about our organization & programs by visiting us online and signing up for our newsletter.

Test your knowledge! How much do you know about Sudden Cardiac Arrest?

Thank you for ensuring your efforts to create a heart safe campus. Having an AED, creating a CERP, (cardiac emergency response plan), & offering CPR, you are ensuring that you’re able & ready to respond to a cardiac emergency. Together, we can ensure that no other life is affected by Sudden Cardiac Arrest!

Just three Carolina girls who are working to improve the health & educational outcomes for children & youth. We’re so thankful for our entire network of friends, supporters, donors, volunteers, & partners…together we can ensure access to services & positively impact the lives of children & youth in South Carolina & beyond.

These heart heroes are working to ensure equitable access to AEDs for students throughout the country. From rural communities in Florida & South Carolina, to our Sovereign Tribal lands, we must ensure that all schools & youth serving organizations have cardiac emergency response plans & and adequate number & access to AEDs. Thank you Shawn Sima of Who We Play For, American Heart Association, Shayai Lucero, & all the other heart advocates. Together, we can!

Today, we celebrate Freedom Day, & honor the history of those who came before & dreamed of a day that chains would be broken & all are free to pursue their dreams. Happy Juneteenth.

Bystander CPR saves lives! If someone is unresponsive, call 911 & begin CPR immediately.

Thank you to Clemson Sunrise Rotary Club for your support of our Keep the Beat Initiative. We are every grateful for the opportunity to serve our students & community. Together we can ensure no other life is affected by sudden cardiac arrest!

June 1-7th is recognized as National CPR & AED awareness week. Contact us for more information about local CPR & AED instructors & classes throughout SC, NC, & GA. With our network of partners, instructors, & you, we can improve survival outcomes & make sure no other life is affected by SCA.

We’d like to wish a very happy birthday to our Board President, Clintoria Wakefield Session. Author, Coach, councilor, community advocate, sports mom, organizational leader…what hat doesn’t this woman wear? Her tireless advocacy & selfless work have helped the our organization & the students & families we serve reach new heights. We are ever grateful to her for her leadership, friendship, & support. Happy Birthday!!! 🎁🎊🎉

The Capitol saw a lot of red, as the American Heart Association brought heart advocates from all over the Country to advocate for the House to pass the Hearts Act & for the Senate to pass the Access to AED’s Act. We got to meet & work with some incredible advocates right here in SC-also working so no other life is affected by SCA.

Join us by writing your Congressmen, Congresswomen, & Senators to ask them for their support. Together, we can keep young hearts beating

As the American Heart Association celebrated its 100th birthday, they flew in heart champions & leading heart advocates from all over the country to celebrate & advocate with them to ensure students across the country have access to AED’s. I was excited to see my great friend & partner Shawn Sima from who we play for & to meet my fellow SC champion & current President of the South Carolina Athletic Trainers Association, Dr. Amy Farley. Honored to be a part of this amazing group, working to ensure no other life is affected by Sudden Cardiac Arrest.

We’re sending out a very happy birthday to Tamara Houston LMSW, who has been an integral part of the formation & growth of our organization from its inception.

Tamara served as our first board chair & once that term completed, she circled back around & served as our treasurer, provided supervision for our masters level interns, & provided her expertise & guidance in the development of the mental health components of our programs. As a speaker, educator, community advocate, therapist, business owner, consultant, wife, & mother, we marvel at all she has accomplished…but her greatest assets to us have been the fierce friendship, sage advice, & initiatives for helping professions to ensure their self-care & mental health. Happiest birthday Mrs.Houston-Hamilton. We know 43 will be good to you!

Our ED had the opportunity to personally thank Senator Cory Booker who sponsored the access to AED which will provide support for schools throughout the country to have life saving AED devices to keep children safe. Call your Senator & Congress person & ask them to support the Federal Access to AEDs Act.

We’re forever grateful to our friend & the founder of Every Second Counts CPR, Ed Kosiec, for working so hard to bring together heart advocates throughout the country. Ed is a SCA survivor who travels the country teaching CPR & who is one of the most amazing humans on the planet. Thank you, Ed, and everyone involved who is staying DC by storm & ensuring the safety of others by teaching CPR.

We understand the importance of a mother…we were founded by one, who took the love for her son & made it her mission to ensure other mother’s didn’t have to suffer the same loss.

Mother’s are powerful. They are necessary. And we are thankful for our founder, our board members, volunteers, supporters, & friends who are mothers, making a difference in the lives of their children & the entire world. Thank you!

May 7th we will be partnering with Seneca Middle School for our 3rd annual Keep the Beat Clinic. For $20, your student will receive an athletic physical that includes a preventative heart screening, which increases the chances of identifying an undiagnosed heart condition by over 90%. These screening are not included in standard sports physicals but are needed to prevent SCA.

Thank you, SMS, for your hardwork & dedication to ensure the safety of all students & working to keep young hearts beating.

Thank you to our amazing volunteers! From medical students, residents, & physicians, to teachers, students, & moms, we have a diverse group of individuals, from all walks of life, with one mission…to improve the health & educational outcomes of students we serve & to prevent sudden cardiac arrest in youth! We cannot do this alone, so thank you to our amazing network of volunteers!

Thank you to WestOak Middle School for all your work to ensure your students are safe & that your campus has a plan to respond in case of a cardiac emergency! And thank you to our amazing screen team, the staff, & special thanks to the nursing staff of WestOak for your work to provide preventative heart screenings to the students you serve. Together, we can ensure no other life is affected by SCA!

Did you know that women are less likely to receive bystander CPR & therefore have a decreased chance of surviving a cardiac arrest. Reasons given for failure to respond is a fear of exposing her, hurting her, getting sued, or embarrassing her. Here are the facts…

-if she’s suffering a sudden cardiac arrest, she has died. She needs your help to revive her. Do CPR
-She’s dead. When you revive her, she may be sore but she’ll be alive. Do CPR
-SC’s Good Samaritan law protects you from civil liability if you provide emergency care in good faith. Do CPR!
-When asked, most women would agree they’d rather wake up embarrassed than remain unalive. Be a hero & Do CPR!

This Dream team of heart champions came across states to create the perfect “Screen Team” to offer preventative heart screenings throughout Georgia. Who We Play For in Florida & The NOLA Network in South Carolina collaborate on this project to ensure all athletes have the opportunity to be screened…for every kid who never got the chance.

and another ⚡️AED⚡️MYTH BUSTER…

Credit: KSI and Defibtech

We’d like to wish a very happy birthday to a special woman within our organization. Tinishia Graham is one of our founding board members & has been a supporter of our organization since its inception. After rolling off the board, she continued to volunteer & eventually interned with us as a policy & research analyst.

Tinishia has brought invaluable assets to our community & team, by being a fierce advocate for health & education, providing support for the families we serve, & for bringing fresh, innovative ideas & approaches that ensure we look at all solutions through an equitable lens. She is a social worker, a mother, volunteer, advocate, superwoman…but most of all, she’s an amazing human & friend. We’re honored to have her as a part of our network. Happiest Birthday, Brandi Tinishia Graham! ❤️

The last weekend in February, we host our annual Masquerade Gala to raise funds to support our Keep the Beat:Vari Benson SCA Prevention Project. We were honored to have our friend from Florida, Ed Koisac from Every Second Counts CPR surprise us with a visit. SCA has no respect of person…male, female, black, white, young, old, & everyone in between. Together, we CAN increase access to services, raise awareness, & improve the standard of care so that no other life is affected by SCA!

It’s important to explain the process of our test to the students that receive them. That’s why members of our screen team take time to explain the process & importance to the students we screen, like this collegiate athlete that attended a recent screening. Our goal is to give peace of mind, along with ensuring a healthy heart for students.