On July 3, 2023, educators, sports officials, and coaches from across New York gathered in center field with members of the NY Yankees at Yankee Stadium with one mission; to learn how to save lives! 

Hope Week 

The event marked the start of the 14th annual HOPE Week, a time set aside by the Yankees to honor families, people, and organizations who deserve recognition.  For this event, the Yankees partnered with the American Heart Association to bring CPR training to leaders in the community. 

Honorees 

During the event, the Yankees honored Buffalo Bills Safety Demar Hamlin and  Fordham softball player Sarah Taffet. Hamlin went into cardiac arrest when he tackled an opposing player in a game against the Cincinnati Bengals earlier this year and was revived when CPR was administered on the field. Taffet was also revived using CPR and the use of a defibrillator after an injury during a college softball game.

According to the American Heart Association, 436,000 Americans die from cardiac arrest each year, with 350,000 cardiac arrests occurring outside of the hospital. That is why it is imperative that people become CPR trained. 

Hamlin hopes that this partnership with the Yankees will inspire more people across the country to get the training.

“They’re such a staple in history. For people getting to see them come out here and learn CPR, it will have a big trickle effect to the rest of the world that want to get trained,” he told reporters at the event.

Impact 

This day had a resounding impact on all of those involved. “It’s important for children to have images of adults who are caring for them, and the fact that we are here shows that we care,” said Andre Kaalund, a youth sports official who was participating in the event. 

For Matt Walker, another youth sports referee, this training was a chance to be ready if disaster strikes. 

“Being an official on the field, you have kids sometimes that get into emergency situations. CPR is something that saved a professional football player’s life. That’s something that us as officials need to take note of that, in case we have kids that go through a little bit of pressure, we can use the techniques we learn today to help them out. This whole program is really good for us to move along and work with our kids a little better.”

Sachin Agarwal, a Neuro Intensivist at Columbia Medical Center who instructed the CPR training, summed up the impact of the day perfectly. 

“Together we learned a life-saving skill set” he told Greater Than The Game, “and I believe that  giving is the ultimate gift of life.”

If you would like more information or to schedule a CPR training, click  here. That’s it for this post.  If you like what you read, follow us on Instagram or Facebook using the buttons above. To help us create more inspiring content, please donate to Greater Than The Game using the button below.