CPR training part of Red Cross' Project Prepare

MARION – No rubber trucks were harmed as people received instruction in hands-only CPR on Monday as the local American Red Cross chapter's launched Project Prepare.

AmeriCorps member Cole McMath kept the atmosphere light as he provided the instruction to about 10 people at the Marion County chapter's offices.

Participants did their best to press down on the trucks in time, first with a metronome set at 100 beats per minute and then with the beat of a recording of The BeeGees' "Staying Alive."

The lesson was part of the Red Cross' Project Prepare, whose goal is to engage 500,000 residents in the organization's 45-county Ohio Buckeye Region within the next two years in preparing for the kinds of emergencies their communities may face, said Todd James, executive director for the North Central Ohio chapter of the Red Cross.

"We want you all to be prepared because disasters happen every day," James said, to the approximately two dozen people attending the event.

Marion County Commissioner Dan Russell read a proclamation recognizing March as American Red Cross Month.

McMath said the objective of the CPR exercise also was to embolden participants to take action when they encounter someone in distress.

"The main thing this course is trying to teach is willingness to act, not being afraid of stepping up in a crowd," he said. "That's what we're encouraging today."

In 2014, the seven-county North Central Ohio chapter of the Red Cross, which includes Marion County, trained 11,500 volunteers in disaster preparedness, James said.

Under Project Prepare, the Red Cross will train volunteers in one or more of the following skills: doing hands-only CPR, building an emergency kit, creating family escape plans, installing smoke alarms and others.

To learn more about Project Prepare, visit http://www.redcross.org/oh/columbus/project-prepare online or call the Marion County chapter of the Red Cross at 740-725-9141.

jjarvis@marionstar.com

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Twitter: @jmwjarvis