In honour of February being heart month, the Friends of Fireside School (FOFS) has teamed up with Cochrane Emergency Training Services (CETS) for an incredible training and fundraising opportunity. 

With heart-saving on the mind, CETS is offering a full CPR Certification course with a strong focus on infant and child health considerations, shares Chelsea Mann, Co-Owner/Instructor of CETS. "It won't just be a workshop, people will actually walk away with a certificate. It is a course we developed through our company to put a more pediatric spin on it. It is my favourite course to teach because I am a pediatric nurse, and it is the same course we were teaching though ParnetLink every month last year and I thought this one would be quite appealing."

April Baird, President of the FOFS, says thanks to a mom whose daughter was enrolled in Cochrane Brownies, she was introduced to the great work that Cochrane Emergency Training Services provides the community. "I thought it was a good idea because I have seen many community posts where moms' are saying 'who wants to take a child CPR class?' At the beginning of the year when we did our fundraiser layout plan for this year, we thought why not give this a try and let's see how it goes"

Combining the course with heart month seemed like the perfect fit and CETS has graciously offered to donate half the money of every registrant back to FOFS, says Baird. "They were eager to do it and it seems like a good idea. Hopefully, if it sells out and it's popular enough, we don't see why this couldn't be an annual thing because the certification will need to be updated anyway."

The four-hour certification course is being offered at Fireside School on Saturday, February 2nd with both a morning and afternoon time slot available. Mann shares the goal for both her and her husband Alex, who is the other Co-Owner/Instructor, is to bring a fun and engaging teaching session for all those that sign up. "I remember the first time I ever took a CPR course and how overwhelming it was and so our goal is to try and make it something that people can be confident about and feel empowered with the knowledge."

While hoping registrants won't find themselves in a situation requiring the use of lifesaving techniques, she wants people to know they will have the skillset if an emergency arises. "It is just really reassuring for people to know that they would be able to respond in an emergency whether as a parent or in the community."

The cost to take the course is $50 with half of the monies going back to the Friends of Fireside School, which Baird says will be used to purchase early reading books. "The school didn't have too many items on the list but the one big-ticket item they asked for this year was the Grade One literacy library. These are the staggered books where kids gradually learn to read at a harder level and we support that wholeheartedly one hundred percent."

Although the course has a pediatric focus, participants will leave with a certificate in Infant, Child, and Adult CPR certification. "That's why I make the point, this is not a workshop it's a certified course. So if you have a health spending account or you have education approved through work funding it should be covered."

Currently, there are 12 spots remaining out of the 24 and Mann encourages anyone who is interested to sign up HERE. 

CETS just celebrated their one year anniversary in December and with Chelsea's ICU nursing background, and her husband, Alex's work as an EMT the two look forward to sharing their knowledge regarding lifesaving with area residents in the most non-boring way they can.