The float celebrates a new law that requires CPR training of most California high school students; amazing float rider stories tell how CPR saves lives
LOS ANGELES, CA--Union Bank and the American Heart Association (AHA) Western States Affiliate announced today that Ilisa Juried will appear on their float Keep the Beat Alive in the 2017 Rose Parade® presented by Honda on Jan. 2. The singer/songwriter/actress will take center stage and appear in the float’s heart-shaped DJ booth surrounded by CPR survivors and teens who saved lives with CPR. The float’s mission is to encourage everyone, especially youth, to learn CPR.
Juried was saved by CPR administered by three bystanders when she was 18 years old and her heart stopped in a New York subway station after she joined in a dance with a group of hip hop street performers. A nurse vacationing from Michigan, another nurse and a man ran to Ilisa’s side and started CPR. When paramedics arrived 30 minutes later, they used an automated external defibrillator, or AED, to shock Ilisa’s heart back into a normal rhythm.
“CPR is the only thing that kept me alive and saved me from major brain damage,” Ilisa said. “You can truly save someone’s life by learning the simple technique of hands-only CPR. Everyone should learn CPR and that’s why I’m so honored to be on the Union Bank-American Heart Association Keep the Beat Alive float. We will reach millions with the lifesaving message of CPR.”
Inspired by the message of the Keep the Beat Alive float, Juried co-wrote and recorded an original song, “Live Your Life,” that will be played on the float during the parade. As the float rolls down the parade route, the song will play along with several other popular tunes with 100 beats per minute. A CPR dance team comprised of 28 students from Los Angeles’ Crenshaw High School and Abraham Lincoln High School will walk alongside the float and engage the audience with a CPR-inspired dance choreographed by Juried.
The Keep the Beat Alive float features a musical theme with a 55-foot long floral piano keyboard and four eight-foot tall floral drums. The musical elements represent the beat of the heart and the correct compression rate for CPR administration – a rhythm of 100 beats per minute.
SOURCE: American Heart Association