A few weeks ago, Henry, and his dad decided to go for a run. They soon found their rhythm and were enjoying their run together. However, disaster unexpectedly struck when Henry’s dad suddenly collapsed beside his 12 year old son.

For many parents – or, even for any adult – this is one of the biggest fears: To collapse, miles from anywhere, in front of your child. However, Henry knew what to do. Before the lockdown, he’d attended a free teaching session held in his school, by charity, Little LifeSavers, which equipped him to know what to do, and set-off a chain of events, which ultimately saved his dad’s life.

When Matt Strutt, owner of InXpress Gatwick, heard about the work of the Little LifeSavers charity, and the incredible vision they have, something resonated within him. “I was at my local BNI event, and was transfixed as Dr Barbara Stanley ran through her charity presentation. I wanted to do so much more than just listen to her story.”

For the dad of four, hearing about how the charity equips and empowers children to saves lives, really struck a chord. “Many years ago, I was a lifeguard,” Matt explains, “so I know the importance of basic life-saving skills. The more I heard more about Little LifeSavers, the more convinced I became of what could be achieved if more children were taught basic life-saving skills like how to help someone who is choking, putting someone into the recovery position, or calling 999. I’m a firm believer in using my business to give back, which is also one of InXpress’ core values, and had been waiting for the right opportunity since opening my franchise, last September. As Dr. Stanley spoke, I knew this was the right charity for me to support.”

Little LifeSaver volunteers go into schools and show children, from the age of 9, the basics of saving lives. “I’m incredibly passionate about sharing simple knowledge,” explains Dr. Barbara Stanley. “It is often, children who are alone with an adult when something happens. During the 2016 Junior Doctor strike, the opportunity arose for some of my colleagues and I show some Basic Life Support Skills to the public. During one of these sessions, the son of my daughter’s swimming instructor attended and learnt how to do CPR.

“When he went back into school, he told his teachers about how valuable he’d found the session. The school contacted me, as a local doctor, to ask if I could do something similar with their year sixes. We all realised how beneficial this would be – and how empowering it was for the children who, rather than helplessly watching their parent choke or collapse, would be equipped to take immediate and useful action. Since then, we’ve taught over 8000 children basic life-saving skills.”

Henry, was one of those 8000 children. When his dad collapsed from a confirmed cardiac arrest, he immediately followed the training he’d received, and started chest compressions – he knew every minute counted. When another jogger approached, Henry flagged him down, asked him to do the chest compressions, then ran to get the defibrillator he knew was at the rugby club they’d passed, which the paramedics would be able to make use of, when they arrived.

“We have another story of a child who had done a Little LifeSaver’s course and immediately sprung into action when they saw someone in difficulty,” Dr Stanley says. “So, to know we are saving lives through these incredibly selfless children, is both powerful and humbling. We have a vision to reach every school in the UK with Little LifeSavers, so more lives can be saved in the long run.”

As part of the InXpress network, Matt spoke to Glenn Willis who is head of the InXpress Gives Back Charity Committee for InXpress Gives Back. “I really wanted to inform the network about the incredible work of Little Life Savers, and to see is anyone wanted to volunteer their time, or could raise awareness about it, in their children’s schools. But, Glenn went further than I had expected. He arranged for a donation to be made, out of the Gives Back charity support fund.”

InXpress Gives Back is the InXpress network’s means of making a difference through charitable causes. Over the years, we’ve helped to educate children, supported the InXpress franchise family who have been rocked by serious illness, and provided a wheelchair for a young man to enjoy life to the max. Through Matt’s involvement, we can also make a difference by helping the next generation feel both equipped and empowered to save lives.

So, whether you are someone who wants to use your time, or you have connections into schools, you can make a difference – even if you’re not part of InXpress – just visit www.littlelifesavers.org for more information.

Imagine what could be achieved in your local community, if there were more Henrys.