PRESS RELEASE: The CPR Ready Generation™ Launches National Student-Led Movement to Help Turn CPR Training into Action
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The CPR Ready Generation™ Launches National Student-Led Movement to Help Turn CPR Training into Action
WorldPoint Launches Movement as Founding Sponsor; Defibtech Joins as First Founding Industry Partner
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, August 11, 2026 – A new national movement is launching with an ambitious goal: to help create a generation that’s more likely to step forward when someone’s life is on the line.
Today, The CPR Ready Generation™, a student-led movement founded and sponsored by WorldPoint, officially announced its launch along with its First Founding Industry Partner, Defibtech, and the first five schools that will help bring the movement to life during the 2026–2027 school year.
The CPR Ready Generation™ was created to address one of the most persistent challenges in emergency response.
For decades, organizations across the country have worked tirelessly to expand CPR education. More students are receiving CPR training than ever before, yet bystander CPR rates have not increased at the same pace. That gap suggests the challenge extends beyond learning the skill—it also requires building the confidence, identity, and culture that inspire someone to act when every second counts.
The CPR Ready Generation™ exists to help close that gap.
Rather than replacing CPR instruction, the movement complements existing education by helping students move from being trained to being ready. Through student leadership, peer influence, storytelling, school activations, and social media, the movement is designed to make readiness visible, normalize action, and empower students to create a culture where stepping forward becomes the expectation rather than the exception. The movement operates through a simple but powerful model—students share their commitment to readiness, invite their peers to participate, and help build momentum throughout their schools and communities.
“Students don’t just participate in culture—they create it,” said Shelly Amato, Founder of The CPR Ready Generation™. “We’ve made incredible progress in teaching CPR, but confidence and identity are just as important when someone has to decide whether to help. This movement is about creating a generation that sees stepping forward as part of who they are.”
A Movement Built Through Partnership
The CPR Ready Generation™ was created and is supported by WorldPoint, a longtime leader in CPR and emergency care education. As the movement’s Founding Sponsor, WorldPoint provides the vision, strategic leadership, and long-term infrastructure to help the movement grow into schools and communities nationwide.
Joining WorldPoint as the movement’s First Founding Industry Partner, AED manufacturer Defibtech is helping launch the inaugural year by investing in participating schools and supporting the next generation of confident responders.
As part of the partnership, Defibtech has made both a financial commitment and a pledge to donate one automated external defibrillator (AED) to every Founding School participating during the 2026–2027 school year. Defibtech will also serve as the movement’s exclusive AED manufacturer partner throughout the inaugural year.
“WorldPoint has spent more than three decades supporting CPR education and preparedness,” said John Amato, CEO & President at WorldPoint. “The CPR Ready Generation™ represents the next evolution of that work. Training will always be essential, but we also have an opportunity to strengthen the confidence and culture that determine whether someone steps forward in a real emergency. We’re proud to serve as the Founding Sponsor of this movement and thrilled to welcome Defibtech as our First Founding Industry Partner.”
"Defibtech’s mission has always been centered around saving lives,” said AJ Pace, Defibtech President & CEO. “What is exciting about the CPR Ready Generation™ is that it focuses on equipping our next generation of responders. By helping students build confidence and encouraging them to see themselves as people who are ready to act, this movement has the potential to create lasting impact. We’re honored to be the First Founding Industry Partner and look forward to helping build something meaningful from the very beginning.”
The First Founding Schools
The movement will officially launch this fall with its first cohort of Founding Schools, representing communities across the country.
The inaugural schools include:
- Huntley High School (Illinois)
- Saint Patrick High School (Illinois)
- Jackson Hole High School (Wyoming)
- Fowlerville High School (Michigan)
- SABER College (Florida)
Additional schools are expected to join throughout the school year as the movement continues to expand.
Each Founding School will receive launch resources designed to activate student participation, encourage peer-to-peer engagement, and create opportunities for students to lead within their schools. Through Defibtech’s partnership, every Founding School will also receive a Defibtech AED, reinforcing a shared commitment to preparedness and community safety.
Beyond the initial school launches, WorldPoint and Defibtech will collaborate on student storytelling, school activations, educational resources, social media campaigns, and community engagement designed to inspire participation and help grow the movement nationwide.
Looking Ahead
The CPR Ready Generation™ is designed to grow through students.
As the movement expands, students will have opportunities to become ambassadors, serve on school leadership teams, mentor younger students, participate in national initiatives, and help shape the future of the movement. Schools will gain access to a growing network of partners, recognition opportunities, and resources that strengthen the impact of the CPR and AED education they already provide.
“This is only the beginning,” Shelly added. “We’re not launching another campaign. We’re building a movement that students own, schools support, and industry leaders believe in. Years from now, we hope people will look back at this first group of schools and partners as the ones who helped create a generation that’s more likely to step forward when someone needs help.”
About The CPR Ready Generation™
The CPR Ready Generation™ is a student-led movement that helps bridge the gap between CPR training and real-world action. By making readiness visible, social, and student-owned, the movement empowers students to build a culture where stepping forward becomes the norm. Working alongside schools, educators, and industry partners, The CPR Ready Generation™ strengthens the impact of existing CPR and AED education by focusing on confidence, leadership, and readiness to act.
Learn more at cprreadygeneration.com
Follow the movement:
Instagram: @cpr_readygen
TikTok: @cpr_readygen
About WorldPoint
WorldPoint is a leading provider of CPR, AED, first aid, and emergency medical education training products, supporting instructors, training centers, healthcare organizations, schools, and communities for more than 30 years.
As the Founding Sponsor of The CPR Ready Generation™, WorldPoint provides the strategic leadership, infrastructure, and long-term support behind the movement, helping students move from being trained to being ready.
Learn more at www.worldpoint.com.
About Defibtech
Defibtech is a leader and innovator in the design and manufacture of life-saving resuscitation devices, including automated external defibrillators (AEDs), mechanical chest compressors, and related accessories that the public and healthcare professionals depend on every day. With more than 740,000 AED units shipped worldwide, Defibtech is committed to saving lives by producing the best AEDs that advanced medical technology has to offer.
Headquartered in Guilford, Connecticut, all of Defibtech’s life-saving products are conceived and developed in-house and are designed and built in the United States at its state-of-the-art facilities.
For more information about Defibtech and its products, visit www.defibtech.com.
Media Contact:
The CPR Ready Generation™
Shelly Amato
[email protected]
cprreadygeneration.com
