Eagle Scout goals: High school sophomore joins NCHU Soccer Club to teach AED awareness
The Reed family at the August 27 AED and CPR awareness event at Cow Harbor Soccer Park. From left are brother Luke, Parker, father Blake and mom Jeannine.
Northport High School student Parker Reed is honing in on skills he learned as a lifeguard – and the desire to share those skills with his community – for his journey toward Eagle Scout.
As part of the service project necessary to attain the coveted rank, Reed arranged a visit to the Northport Cow Harbor United (NCHU) Soccer Club last month, where he taught the club’s young athletes about CPR, automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and how that knowledge can save a life in an emergency.
“Becoming a lifeguard is actually what inspired me to do this project,” Reed said at the August 27 event. “During my lifeguard training, I learned CPR and how to use an AED, and I realized how important these skills are in an emergency.”
A Life Scout in East Northport’s Troop 52, Reed’s ultimate goal is to install an AED and SaveStation at Fifth Avenue Elementary School, where he was once a student.
While at Cow Harbor Soccer Park, a team of volunteers from the Louis J. Acompora Foundation taught children aged 9 to 12 how to use an AED and perform hands-only CPR. “These are simple skills, but they could help save someone’s life,” Reed said.
Participants walked through a variety of stations that explained the skills and allowed for demonstrations. They learned the significance of CALL-PUSH-SHOCK, a public awareness campaign and simple emergency response guide designed to help bystanders save a person experiencing sudden cardiac arrest, and become AED ambassadors for the soccer club.
“It was really a great event. One of the best things I have been a part of in all my years at NCHU,” said soccer club president Jen Gallagher.
Also in attendance at the event were Karen Acompora and other members of the LA12 Foundation, formed in 2000 following the tragic death of 14-year-old Louis Acompora from sudden cardiac arrest during a high school lacrosse game.
Two years after his death, thanks to the tireless advocacy of his parents Karen and John, “Louis’ Law” was passed in New York State, mandating AEDs in all public schools and at sporting events. Louis’ Law has saved 139 lives in public schools throughout the state since its passage.
“It was a great way to see the community come together,” Gallagher said of Reed’s event. “That SaveStation could help anyone at or near Fifth Avenue, the Acomporas are synonymous with Northport and their work is inspiring, and NCHU is a community club. It was truly a feel-good kind of day.”
Reed anticipates that the AED and SaveStation will be electrically hardwired to the outside of the elementary school this spring. A firewood ($5 firewood and kindling bundles) and bake sale fundraiser to help purchase the AED is scheduled for Saturday, October 3 from 12 to 6pm at 35 Teaneck Drive in East Northport. Donations can also be made via Venmo (information on flyer below).
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