Next Doors: A Program with Heart

Many Arizona schools are thin on resources. They’re focused on making sure each dollar is spent in the pursuit of providing the best possible education. 

That means that sometimes critical ancillary needs can go unmet. And recently, the team at the Fiesta Sports Foundation found an important one. 

The Fiesta Sports Foundation, formerly known as the Fiesta Bowl organization, is undergoing a rebrand to better reflect its community-oriented mission. It’s primarily known for the Fiesta Bowl football game, but it also focuses on community outreach and charitable giving across the state. 

The unmet need they identified could be a lifesaving one: They found that most Arizona schools do not have automated external defibrillators, or AEDs, which can help people experiencing sudden cardiac arrest analyze the heart and, if necessary, deliver an electrical shock, or defibrillation, to reestablish an effective heart rhythm.

In Arizona, AEDs are only required in state buildings and dental offices, and there are no legislative requirements for CPR/AED training.

So, Fiesta Sports Foundation teamed up with BHHS Legacy Foundation, its partner on a number of community initiatives, to create the AED Assistance Program, launched to address this gap and raise awareness about the need for AEDs. 

“This program originated from a suggestion by one of our Yellow Jacket committee members, Dr. William Jaffe, a local cardiologist,” said Kristina Chumpol, Fiesta Sports Foundation chief of staff and VP of community investment. 

“During a meeting with our CEO, Dr. Jaffe suggested there was an opportunity to provide AED equipment to schools and possibly nonprofits, and that conversation sparked the conversation.”

Chumpol said they discovered that Arizona, unlike some other states, doesn’t require schools to have AEDs on campus, which stood out to them as a critical gap that was primarily due to lack of funding. 

“School budgets are already stretched thin, so this need often goes unmet,” Chumpol said. “It became clear that this was an area where we could step in to help.”

More than 40 percent of schools surveyed before the program launched did not have AEDs on campus due to cost, and another 34 percent said they did not have trained staff for AED use. BHHS Legacy Foundation’s mission is focused on both children and health, so they were a natural partner with the Fiesta Sports Foundation to launch the program. 

“BHHS Legacy Foundation is proud to participate with Fiesta Bowl Charities in the funding and implementation of the much-needed program for selected area public schools,” said Gerald Wissink, BHHS Legacy Foundation CEO. “Having school staff members trained in CPR, plus making AEDs available in the schools and encouraging schools to develop emergency response plans, will make the schools better prepared to respond to any future sudden cardiac event, which will help in saving lives.”

Fremont Junior High School in Mesa, the Avondale Elementary District and five schools in the Tri-State region (centered around Bullhead City and including Arizona, Nevada and California) were selected for inclusion in the inaugural year of the program after surveys were conducted to identify need in Arizona public and charter schools. 

In the program’s first year, the new equipment and accompanying training were implemented at 16 schools, impacting over 9,200 students and nearly 700 teachers — with the goal of expanding in the coming years.

“We’re preparing for the second year, launching in January, with plans to double or even exceed those numbers,” Chumpol said. “The long-term goal is fluid. Right now, we’re focused on reaching as many schools as possible and growing the program annually. But just as importantly, we want to spark conversations and awareness about this gap.”

Chumpol said that one key element to the program’s implementation is a “train-the-trainer” model adopted in partnership with the American Red Cross. It ensures the sustainability of the program by training multiple staff members across schools and districts to lead their own sessions. 

“This cascade effect will allow hundreds of teachers, coaches and staff to become trainers themselves, keeping the program alive year after year,” she said.

And Chumpol said the organization is interested in seeing how they can most effectively grow the program, both inside and outside of schools. 

“This was a natural place for us to start,” she said. “But I don’t see it being where we stop. Maybe there’s a world where this program continues to grow, such as at youth-serving nonprofits that we get involved with, because we think it’s very important.”

Schools interested in the AED Assistance Program may contact charities@fiestabowl.org. For more information, visit fiestabowl.org.