Local Stores Join Janet Fund Wristband Campaign

In honor of National Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Month, the Janet Fund has launched the “Live with a Heart” wristband campaign.

The wristbands require a donation of $3, with all proceeds going to support the Janet Fund’s mission of preventing sudden cardiac arrest in children. The trendy bands, sure to be a must-have for children, are red, 3/4-inch wide with large lettering reading: “Live with Heart” in white.

The wristbands are available at a Sports Minded Unlimited, Café Giardino, Country Squire Restaurant and the UPS store in Warren. They are also available at Effingers in Bound Brook  If you are a business/ school or sports group and would like to support the Janet Fund’s wristband campaign, contact us at jim@thejanetfund.org.

The wristband campaign comes off a highly successful Lace for Life awareness campaign; during which over 3,000 high school athletes across New Jersey wore red shoe laces with the Janet Fund logo. The laces were provided to any student athlete who wished to wear them. 

“It's a way for the youth of New Jersey to come together and help protect each other, by high lighting the dangers of sudden cardiac arrest in youth,” Karen Zilinski, of the Janet Fund, said. ”It's children protecting children; there is nothing more poignant then that.”  

Sudden cardiac arrest is the leading cause of death on school property and it is the leading cause of death of student athletes.  It also takes the lives of 25 children in the United States every day.

Sometimes there are no warning signs, so the best thing to do is be prepared and that means have an AED available. Have coaches/ teachers trained in CPR and have an emergency action plan on how to deal with a SCA event.

The Janet Fund has donated more than 110 Automatic External Defibrillators to New Jersey schools and institutions, while training more than 2,000 people in CPR. A defibrillator is the key to surviving Sudden Cardiac Arrest—if defibrillated within one minute of SCA, survival chances are closet to 90 percent. When an AED is used within 5 minutes, the survival rate is almost 75 percent.  

“Events like this make a difference,” Jim Zilinski, of the Janet Fund, said. “It was events like this; that helped us get Janet’s Law passed, public support is the backbone of our organization and allows us to continue our mission of saving lives one beat at a time.

The Jnaet Fund was launched after 11-year-old Janet Zilinski collapsed and died at cheerleading practice in 2006 from Sudden Cardiac Arrest. In her memory, the Janet Fund was created to raise awareness and combat Sudden Cardiac Arrest.  For more information, visit www.thejanetfund.org.