Hard-man Vinnie Jones has been fronting a national campaign for the British Heart Foundation on how to properly perform life-saving CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) – and on Friday 20^th January, local first-aider Simon Green was in-store at the Mell Square branch of the charity shop showing shoppers in-person how it’s done.

The campaign uses the Bee Gee’s hit ‘Stayin Alive’ to offer three simple steps to successfully helping a person who has gone into cardiac arrest: call 999, apply hands-only compressions to the patient’s chest - all to the beat of the 1970’s classic tune which amounts to approximately 2 compressions per second.

In support of the initiative, British Heart Foundation store manager Monica Bailey engaged qualified first-aid trainer Simon to offer the live demonstrations in an attempt to cut the number of heart attack deaths in the region. He was in the Mell Square store from 11am until 2pm on Friday 20^th January 2012.

Assistant Store Manager, Meisha Daniel took part in the demonstrations. She said: “Over 30,000 people go into cardiac arrest outside of a hospital situation every year and if more people knew what to do in this situation, lives could be saved. In fact, if we can just save one person by educating people in the region then we will be delighted. Thank you to all of our customers who participated in the hands-only CPR demonstration.”

Simon, who lives in Solihull and has been a trained first-aider since 2008 added: “We wanted to empower people and give them the essential skills needed to keep someone alive until professional help arrives. A little practical knowledge can be a very useful weapon in the fight against fatalities from heart attacks. Hands-only CPR really isn’t as difficult as many people think.”

Mell Square Centre Manager Paul Round commented: “This was a fantastic way to educate people in our region and provide them with such essential skills. I’m delighted that Monica and her team are taking the lead in providing practical demonstrations and many thanks to all shoppers who took part.”

As well as offering practical life-saving advice Monica and her team of volunteers are also running a Valentine’s campaign called ‘Spread A Little Love’. Local shoppers and businesses can purchase a paper heart from the store, write their own message of love and see it displayed in the window of the charity shop for the duration of February. So if you’re looking for an innovative way to propose this Leap Year – it could be for you! 

As ever, the charity shop requires solely on donations for the public and is currently in need of good quality clothing, bric-a-brac, CD’s, DVD’s, toys, games, books, accessories including jewellery, handbags, shoes  and small working electrical goods.