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Community Resuscitation Champion

The Community Resuscitation Champion Award recognises individuals or groups who have made an outstanding contribution to improving lifesaving skills within their community. This award celebrates those who have gone above and beyond to promote CPR training, promoting RevivR, increasing access to defibrillators and registering them on the Circuit, whilst raising awareness of the importance of emergency response in cardiac arrest situations.

Meet our 2025 Community Resuscitation Champion

Discover the incredible story of John Deery, the winner of the Community Resuscitation Champion.

John Deery

John Deery had a cardiac arrest at the Belfast Marathon in May 2024. Thankfully his life was saved by bystanders performing CPR and using a defibrillator.

Once John recovered, he was determined to make a positive impact by helping people learn CPR, fundraising for defibrillators and driving awareness of The Circuit.

John worked with BHF to be at the forefront of The Circuit 100k registrations campaign. 
He shared his personal experience with integrity and emotion, highlighting the importance of having defibrillators that are accessible in public places and registered on The Circuit. His story was picked up by BBC across the UK, making the 6 o'clock news as well as BBC worldwide.   The number of weekly registrations on The Circuit doubled during the week of John Deery’s segment. 

 

John is also very passionate about encouraging everyone to learn CPR through RevivR and has worked closely with BHF Northern Ireland, becoming a Community Champion and working on a number of campaigns, including the launch of Classroom RevivR in schools and the Community Defibrillator Scheme.

John standing outside in a park with a defibrillator

Find out more

Heart Hero Awards

Our annual awards celebrate fundraisers, young advocates, lifesavers, healthcare professionals and supporters who go the extra mile for BHF.

About the Heart Hero Awards

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In just 15 minutes, you can learn how to save a life and receive your very own CPR certificate.

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Get involved

Whether you’re volunteering, fundraising, or campaigning, there are many ways to help fund lifesaving cardiovascular research.

Take part
To find out more, or to support British Heart Foundation’s work, please visit www.bhf.org.uk. You can speak to one of our cardiac nurses by calling our helpline on 0808 802 1234 (freephone), Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. For general customer service enquiries, please call 0300 330 3322, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.

British Heart Foundation is a registered Charity No. 225971. Registered as a Company limited by guarantee in England & Wales No. 699547. Registered office at Greater London House, 180 Hampstead Road, London NW1 7AW. Registered as a Charity in Scotland No. SC039426