West Tennessee teens lead heart health awareness campaign

JACKSON, Tenn. — 18 high school students across West Tennessee are working to spread awareness about heart disease and stroke prevention through the West Tennessee Teen of Impact campaign.

The Teen of Impact program is a nine-week leadership campaign that empowers students to build teams, raise awareness and support lifesaving research. Participants become CPR certified and bring that knowledge back to their schools.

“We’re in a unique situation to spread that awareness with our peers and encourage other teens to step up,” said Andrew Simeon, a program participant. “Our goal is to make sure everyone in our community knows the severity of this issue.”

CPR training saves lives

When CPR starts immediately, it can double or even triple someone’s chance of survival. The American Heart Association is working to ensure every school has a trained response plan and access to CPR and AED equipment.

“Over 23,000 kids experience cardiac arrest each year,” said Addi Simeon, another participant. “40% of that is in school or sports activities like practice or games.”

The Teen of Impact participants will be celebrated at the West Tennessee Go Red for Women event on Thursday, March 26 at the Carl Perkins Civic Center. The event will feature a fashion show and raise funds for research and cardiac preparedness efforts across the region.

“I think it’s really cool to see how different everybody does things, but then we can all come together under this really important cause,” Andrew Simeon said.

Addi Simeon said young people do not have to wait until they are older to lead and can make an impact now.

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