Interview Story - Overcame a Challenge

When I was the Senior Director at the American Heart Association, the Development Staff was tasked with selling CPR kiosk sponsorships. The Heart Association had begun this with success in other cities across the US selling the sponsorship to primary health care systems or insurers. All of these kiosks were placed in airports around the country (as they were places that had a lot of visitors and foot traffic). There were incredible success stories of people learning hands-only CPR from this kiosk and literally days later – using their new skill to save someone’s life. I loved this idea and was determined to be the one to sell the first kiosk in Philadelphia.

After a few months, I was fortunate to sell the sponsorship of a CPR kiosk to 2 major donors (for 6 figures). The real obstacle came in finding a public place to host it. After months of phone calls and meetings with the people at the airport that opportunity fell through due to liability issues.

I then tried to negotiate with AMTRAk and 30th Street Station. That also fell through. We also began to reach out to other organizations simultaneously to gauge interest. The project went nowhere.

We finally reached out to some colleagues at the Independence Visitors Center next to the Liberty Bell. This would be a great location as it is accessible to everyone, with free admission.

After I explained the concept, their leadership team understood the value that the kiosk was bringing to the public and were thrilled to be hosting it. After a few face-to-face meetings ironing out the details and logistics, we were ready.

In the end, it was a win-win for everyone. The donors loved the placement and the visitors center was thrilled to have it. We hosted a big ribbon-cutting ceremony and press conference to unveil it with our donors, board members, and leadership from the Independence Visitor Center. The story was covered by several local tv news outlets. The CPR kiosk currently trains about 30,000 visitors per year, increasing the chain of survival from cardiac arrest.