Empowering students and teachers with lifesaving skills through the foundation of TELUS International Bulgaria

"My School is Number 1" project, implemented by the ‘First Three Minutes’ Foundation and financially supported by TELUS International Bulgaria Community Board, has successfully introduced the first-of-its-kind comprehensive public access defibrillation program (PAD) at a school in the country. The pilot project ensures that the students and teachers at the National Financial and Business High School (NFSG) in Sofia are equipped with first aid training, including the use of automatic external defibrillators (AEDs). This not only serves as a benchmark for a safe and secure educational environment at Bulgarian schools but also establishes a scalable model for other institutions. As sudden cardiac arrests can happen anywhere, to anyone, at any time, projects like this one are of extreme importance.

Representatives from both foundations, alongside students, teachers, and administrators from the school, participated in a public demonstration of first aid skills and cardiac massage. The event marked the successful completion of the training activities for students and concluded with the official handover of the AED by Vladimir Kerelezov, Corporate Social Responsibility Manager at TELUS International Bulgaria to Maya Gesheva, Director of National Financial and Business High School. The AED will be installed in the renovated school building and will promote the peer-to-peer learning of lifesaving skills among the school community.

The First Three Minutes Foundation’s mission is to revolutionize first aid and rescue training in Bulgaria by leveraging modern scientific data. Since 2020, TELUS International Bulgaria Community Board has supported the realization of three of their transformative projects, each strategically contributing to the long-term impact and societal awareness about first aid training importance in public schools in the country.

This year, the foundation of TELUS International Bulgaria celebrates ten years since its foundation, having so far supported a total of 171 projects with over one and a half million BGN. In 2023, the TELUS International Bulgaria Community Board Foundation allocated a total of BGN 170,000 to 14 projects, helping over 100,000 people in the country.