Advanced Coronary Treatment (a C T) Foundation, Ottawa, ON

The Advanced Coronary Treatment (ACT) Foundation is the national charitable organization dedicated to establishing free CPR as a mandatory program in every Canadian high school. The program is built on ACT’s award-winning community-based model of partnerships and support. ACT raises funds for mannequins and resources for all high schools and guides schools in program set-up. High school teachers are trained as CPR and defibrillator instructors for their students. More than 6, 000 teachers are trained as instructors and ACT has already donated more than 50, 000 durable mannequins to high schools, ensuring 1:1 mannequin / student ratio. To date, more than 2.6 million youth have been trained by their high school teachers, with an additional 310, 000 being trained each year. Many lives are being saved. Overview Established in 1985, ACT’s mission is to promote health and to empower Canadians to save lives. ACT’s goal is to see all youth graduate with the skills and knowledge to save lives. The program also has a strong health promotion component, encouraging youth to adopt healthy lifestyle habits at a young age. While national in scope, ACT’s programs have deep reach at the community level. No community is considered too large, too small, or too rural for program implementation. Community members are encouraged to take ownership of the program in their high schools by volunteering or donating to the project.