WCFR: Celebrating 5 Years

Worldwide Community First Responder, Inc. is celebrating its fifth anniversary this year. It has been very exciting working with colleagues, friends, volunteers, partners, donors, and thought leaders to meet our mission “to prevent deaths worldwide through education and training”. WCFR was founded in September 2011. After a successful outcome of training first responders in the town of Grand Goave, Jacqueline Cassagnol gathered the healthcare professionals, whom she met on a mission to Haiti, to continue offering these services worldwide. It has been very challenging to build an international nonprofit organization, but the impact that we have made is very rewarding and inspiring.

We are very proud that our programs have proven to empower individuals in their own community and save lives. WCFR offers two main services: WCFR Health Education and WCFR Training Program. The WCFR Health Education focuses on educating community members worldwide of fatal health conditions and preventative measures. The WCFR Training Program is dedicated to providing worldwide community-based first response and first aid training. WCFR provides its services worldwide to all communities regardless of gender, age, race, religion, sexual orientation, ability, economic and social class. WCFR members are a diverse group of volunteers who provide their services free of charge.

WCFR has educated and trained over 200,000 people worldwide, and has been named the Safe Community Award winner by Volunteer New York. We have been to Haitian American Nurses Association Conventions and Sigma Theta Tau International Research Congress, and made presentations in United States, Haiti and China.
WCFR works through partnership to achieve its goals. We would not be what we are today without our lifesaving partners. We are very grateful to work on projects with nonprofits in the USA and Haiti. The nonprofit organizations include: Haitian American Nurses Association, Sigma Theta Tau International, and Volunteer New York. Communities worldwide have benefited from the services that WCFR has provided through lifesaving partnership. A reflection of WCFR lifesaving partnership shows that the partnership impacts education by providing education to community members worldwide about fatal health conditions and preventative measures. The partnership also impacts training by providing worldwide community-based first response and first aid training. The services that WCFR provides can serve as a source of research for faculty and students. The projects engage faculty and students at Faculté des Sciences Infirmières de Léogâne (FSIL), a nursing school in Haiti. Faculty and students respond directly to community needs by conducting community health assessments through surveys; analyzing data collected and recommending interventions to improve community health. Additionally, faculty guide students in assessing communities risk and vulnerability for disasters; and developing disaster preparedness plans including first response and first aid training. These opportunities help students practice critical thinking, and problem-solving skills necessary for professional life. Through the projects, WCFR seeks to empower individuals in their communities and save lives. The lifesaving partnership between WCFR and nonprofit organizations has proven to be beneficial for all stakeholders. WCFR research findings and initiatives are impacting nursing practice, education, training, research and health globally. Although these projects were initiated in the United States and Haiti, they can be utilized for further interventions to prevent deaths through education and training in other parts of the world.

Preventing deaths worldwide through education and training continues to be our mission. Although, our journey has been very exciting, we look forward to more exciting lifesaving partnership locally and abroad. Our objectives this year are: to engage community members in promoting healthy lifestyles in their community, and to engage community members in making their community safer, better prepared, and more resilient to disasters. Throughout the year, WCFR will provide free community health screening and education. We will also provide free hands-only CPR and disaster preparedness training.

We will be celebrating our accomplishments and honor our lifesaving partners at our “WCFR Fifth Anniversary & Fundraising Gala” on September 24th, 2016. The event will be held at The Time Nyack, 400 High Ave, Nyack, New York 10960.

A schedule of WCFR’s events and activities can be found at http://wcfrworldwide.org/wcfr-supporters/events/
More updates can be found on our Facebook page and @wcfrworldwide on Twitter.
How to contact us: Send email to info@wcfrworldwide.org, call 845-608-7409 or write to Worldwide Community First Responder, Inc., P.O. Box 747, Nanuet, NY 10954

About Worldwide Community First Responder

Worldwide Community First Responder (WCFR) is a 501(C)(3) non-profit/charitable organization with a mission “to prevent deaths worldwide through education and training”. WCFR offers two main services: WCFR Health Education and WCFR Training Program. The WCFR Health Education focuses on educating community members worldwide of fatal health conditions and preventative measures. The WCFR Training Program is dedicated to providing worldwide community-based first response and first aid training. WCFR provides its services worldwide to all communities regardless of gender, age, race, religion, sexual orientation, ability, economic and social class. WCFR members are a diverse group of volunteers who provide their services free of charge. Through their efforts, WCFR members seek to empower individuals in their own communities and save lives.

For information on how you can get involved, visit us at www.wcfrworldwide.org or contact us at info@wcfrworldwide.org