Connecting our internal audiences is a key priority for us. This corporate social responsibility initiative inspired, engaged and galvanised staff, students, and our local community to come together as the #LboroFamily to help improve our region’s health. Heart 2 Heart saw collaboration between Loughborough University, Loughborough Students’ Union and the British Heart Foundation to address the shocking statistic that only 8 percent of patients survive a cardiac arrest in England because people don’t know emergency CPR. In the Midlands, the cardiac survival rate is just 1:18 compared to the 1:10 national average. Our goal was to bridge this gap and improve life chances for our whole community.
From the Judges
Loughborough University's Heart 2 Heart Event is an example of a superb public research institutional identity/corporate responsibility partnership. It demonstrates a strong understanding of a pertinent community concern, and the demonstrated impact that higher education can have on influencing public health and educational awareness—a great model for institutions who have passion projects around community concerns to successfully engage both internal and external community members. Great play on theme of Valentine's Day (risky too, to host an evening portion), and strong commitment to increasing numbers of people trained in CPR. What really stood out was the strategy around social media outreach and the unwavering focus on increasing cardiac arrest survival rates.
