PRESS RELEASE

Tenafly, NJ — June 4, 2015 — The Children's Cardiomyopathy Foundation (CCF) in partnership with the American Camp Association (ACA) and One Beat CPR, celebrates National CPR and AED Awareness Week (June 1-7) with the launch of a summer-long scavenger hunt to find automated external defibrillators (AEDs) at camps across the nation. This national initiative will call attention to the importance of quickly locating an AED during a cardiac emergency.

This is the third year CCF is sponsoring the scavenger hunt to raise awareness of AEDs. To participate, campers search for an AED at their camp, take a photo with themselves and the AED, and then post it with the hashtag #mycampAED on social media outlets such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

The CCF scavenger hunt not only stresses the importance of having an AED at camp, but the need for everyone at camp to know its exact location and know what to do in a cardiac emergency. CCF Founder Lisa Yue understands the importance of emergency preparedness and early defibrillation, as she lost two sons to cardiomyopathy, a heart disease that is the leading cause of sudden cardiac arrest in the young. Many times children with cardiomyopathy do not have obvious symptoms and are not diagnosed, putting them at risk for sudden cardiac arrest (SCA).

"Unfortunately, so many young lives are lost each year to SCA due to lack of an emergency plan and training," says Lisa Yue, president and founder of CCF. "According to the American Heart Association, only six percent of children who suffer an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survive. By encouraging campers and staff around the country to locate their AEDs and understand how to use it, we could improve the overall response rate and more lives could be saved."

"ACA is committed to helping camps provide a safe environment for campers and helping campers learn valuable life lessons," says Tom Holland, ACA's chief executive officer. "This AED initiative teaches campers what an AED looks like and how it can help save a life — a powerful tool to learn at camp and use the rest of their lives."

As part of this initiative, CCF is encouraging families to write to their members of Congress to support the SAFE PLAY Act. Introduced by Senator Robert Menendez and Representatives Lois Capps and Bill Pascrell, the Supporting Athletes, Families, and Educators to Protect the Lives of Athletic Youth (SAFE PLAY) Act focuses on youth athlete safety and encourages the development of best practices to prevent, document and address youth athlete cardiac emergencies and injuries.

To ask your representatives to support the SAFE PLAY Act, go to CC's website at childrenscardiomyopathy.org and click the "Take Action Today" link to send a personalized email. To join the scavenger hunt, locate an AED at a camp near you and post to the Children's Cardiomyopathy Foundation's Facebook and Twitter page @CCFheartkids with the hashtag #mycampAED, camp name, AED location and state.

About the Children’s Cardiomyopathy Foundation

The Children's Cardiomyopathy Foundation (CCF) is a national non-profit dedicated to finding causes and cures for pediatric cardiomyopathy. CCF started in 2002 with one family's determination to call attention to this poorly understood heart disease and to take action on the lack of medical progress and public awareness. Since then, CCF has raised more than $9 million for research and education initiatives, and grown into a global community of families, physicians and scientists focused on improving diagnosis, treatment and quality of life for children with cardiomyopathy.

Media Contact:

Jennifer Hivry: 866-808-2873x903; jhivry@childrenscardiomyopathy.org