The American Heart Association and the NFL Foundation have awarded five students and five schools with special incentive prizes as part of a collaboration to encourage young people to learn Hands-Only CPR. The awards, announced on September 23, 2026, are tied to participation in the Association's in-school programs, Kids Heart Challenge™ and American Heart Challenge™, during the 2025-26 school year.
Students who learned Hands-Only CPR through these programs were eligible for incentive prize drawings from the NFL. Five students each received two tickets to Super Bowl LXI, which will take place on February 14, 2027, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. The winners are Finley of Tonawanda, New York; Amelia of Parma, Ohio; Nicolas of Doral, Florida; Sophia of Rio Rancho, New Mexico; and Mark of Mesa, Arizona. Additionally, five schools received $10,000 each for a physical activity equipment makeover: Chancellor Elementary School in Fredericksburg, Virginia; Lincoln K-8 in Rochester, Minnesota; Watertown Elementary in Watertown, Tennessee; Commonwealth Elementary in Sugar Land, Texas; and Olita Elementary in La Habra, California.
This initiative matters because it addresses a critical public health challenge: more than 350,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur in the United States each year, with 70% happening at home. According to American Heart Association data, 9 out of 10 people who experience cardiac arrest outside a hospital die, often because they do not receive immediate CPR. Immediate CPR can double or triple a person's chance of survival. By teaching children as young as four to call 911 and those as young as nine to provide quality chest compressions, the program aims to create a generation of lifesavers.
Nancy Brown, chief executive officer of the American Heart Association, emphasized the importance of the collaboration: "Every student who learns Hands-Only CPR represents another potential lifesaver in their home, school or community. The NFL's unparalleled reach into communities across the country helps us bring lifesaving CPR education directly to students where they learn and play." The Association publishes the official guidelines for CPR and is committed to doubling survival rates from cardiac emergencies by 2030.
The NFL's support includes an introduction video by Damar Hamlin, Buffalo Bills safety and cardiac arrest survivor, who shares that CPR saved his life. The NFL Foundation has renewed its commitment for the 2026-27 school year, offering five more Super Bowl tickets and five $10,000 school grants. Entries are available to those completing the Hands-Only CPR module called Finn's Mission. Parents and school administrators can visit heart.org/jointhechallenge to learn more.
The American Heart Association encourages everyone to join the Nation of Lifesavers initiative. Take 90 seconds to learn how to save a life at www.heart.org/nation. For more information, visit heart.org or stroke.org. Additional resources, including multimedia, are available on the link.
