All Barrington District 220 schools receiving emergency backpacks
All Barrington Area Unit District 220 classrooms will have backpacks with emergency supplies thanks to local nonprofit organizations.
District 220 spokeswoman Samantha Ptashkin said the delivery of the backpacks has started and will continue through the summer. The Barrington Area Community Foundation awarded a $23,000 grant to the village's Breakfast and Noon Rotary clubs, which in turn used the funds to help District 220 purchase the backpacks and supplies, she said.
Each Stop the Bleed kit costs $38 and includes items such as a lightweight tourniquet, emergency trauma dressing, compressed gauze, survival blanket and surgical-type gloves.
In 2018, the Breakfast and Noon Rotary clubs combined to purchase 184 bleeding-control kits for District 220 classrooms.
The national Stop the Bleed initiative is encouraged by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The hope is for bystanders to be trained, equipped and empowered to act before professional help arrives in the wake of a shooting or other emergency resulting in bleeding victims.
No matter how rapid the arrival of first responders, the Stop the Bleed campaign says, bystanders always will be first on the scene. Homeland Security says someone can die from blood loss within five minutes, which is why it's important to stop it as fast as possible.