Newton Youth Lifesavers Initiative Empowers 50 Local Students with CPR and AED Skills

Author: Sarah Sun

NEWTON HIGHLANDS, MA- On August 2, fifty local high school students gathered at the Hyde Community Center for the inaugural Newton Youth Lifesavers Initiative, a free American Heart Association Heartsaver®CPR/AED certification program organized by Heart for Care, a youth-founded nonprofit.
Throughout the afternoon, students learned adult, child, and infant CPR, automated external defibrillator use, choking relief, and emergency response. After successful completion of the hands-on training led by certified instructors from the Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) Academy, participants became eligible to receive an American Heart Association Heartsaver® CPR/AED certification.
The Newton Youth Lifesavers Initiative was founded by high school students Lauren Li and Evan Li, who established Heart for Care in February of 2025. The program was created to make
CPR and AED training more accessible to local students, helping them gain knowledge, confidence and practical skills, while encouraging community service and emergency
preparedness.
Newton School Committee member Victor Lee, who spoke before the training, emphasized that CPR is a skill that can unexpectedly become lifesaving.
“I've, fortunately and unfortunately, had the opportunity to actually put those skills into practice unexpectedly,” Lee said. You never know. Those circumstances can come up at any point in time. What's important is that you are here, you're able to train and learn, and the more people that are aware of it and are trained in it, the safer our communities overall will be.”
Lee encouraged students to share what they learned with their peers and expressed hope that the initiative would continue to grow in future years.
Training was provided by ACLS Academy, an authorized American Heart Association Training Center. Certified instructors guided students through appropriate techniques on manikins, operation of AED training devices, and supervised individual skills assessments.
Shelley Lynch, Director of ACLS Academy and a critical care nurse practitioner, told students that even experienced healthcare professionals can become nervous during a real cardiac emergency.

“Nothing prepares you for that moment when you're in the community, going about your day, and somebody cardiac arrests in front of you. And even myself, with all the training, all the times I've done CPR in a hospital, that moment was like a blip in my life where everything is measured to. I can retell that story. A million times, because it's always fresh in my mind, and it was scary, said Lynch. “You guys all have a skill now. You can come over and say, ‘I know CPR. Can I help?’”

The event also highlights an important gap in CPR education in schools. According to organizers, 41 states, and Washington, D.C., require CPR instruction before high school
graduation, while Massachusetts remains one of only nine states without such a statewide requirement.

State Representative Greg Schwartz emphasized the importance CPR training had in life-or-death situations and added hopes that the initiative will continue to expand in the future.
“We are talking about life and death here. And what you learn today can really be important anytime in the future, and you can really be instrumental in saving somebody's life,” said
Schwartz. “We should all be working with the mayor and school committee to see how we can hopefully continue this, maybe expand it, and try to get all of our citizens here and residents here who can be ready to help somebody in a time of need.”
One of the day’s most emotional moments came when Dr. Lisa Owens of Brigham and Women’s Hospital shared the story of her son, Preston Settles, who suffered a cardiac arrest
during a high school basketball game four years ago.
“His legacy is to have more people learn how to do CPR, maybe they're going to learn it through Newton Youth Lifesavers, they're going to learn it through being a lifeguard, and then they save a teammate. I have worked with the American Heart Association over the last four
years, and there are incredibly amazing survivor stories around, peers resuscitating peers. So I want to underscore how important it is and how you guys are all setting off a cascade to save lives” said Owens.

The training was followed by a recognition ceremony attended by Newton Mayor Marc Laredo, State Representative Greg Schwartz, City Councilor Lisa Gordon, School Committee Member Victor Lee, Newton Chief Community Services Officer John Rice, instructors, volunteers, students, and family members.
Newton Mayor Marc Laredo congratulated students during the recognition ceremony and praised the Lauren Li and Evan Li for creating a program that benefits the entire community.
“You are now going to be equipped to take life-saving action in an emergency, potentially saving someone's life,” Laredo said. “That is actually quite a profound thing. The ability to understand what it takes to save the life of another human being. I am very glad that all of you took the time
today to be part of this program.”

Founded by Lauren Li and Evan Li, Heart for Care is a youth-founded 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Its mission is to promote health and lifesaving education, encourage community service, and support individuals and families in need. Previous Heart for Care activities have included volunteering with Room to Grow to prepare baby and toddler supplies for families in need, delivering oral hygiene products to Ukrainian refugee families in the Czech Republic, and
donating and packing survival seeds to support North Korean refugees and food security in South Korea.
Through community support, donations, sponsorship, and volunteer participation, Heart for Care hopes to make the Newton Youth Lifesavers Initiative an annual program, providing free CPR/AED certification and lifesaving education to 50 local high school students each year. The initiative aims to equip more young people with lifesaving skills, strengthen emergency preparedness through Newton, and raise awareness about the importance of making CPR and
AED education more widely available to high school students across Massachusetts
For additional information, visit NewtonYouthLifesavers.org or HeartForCare.org.