Tag Archives: Training Services

Junípero Serra High School Senior Receives Red Cross Lifesaving Award 

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Malik Osman accepting his Lifesaving Award at the 2026 Red Cross Gala.

The 2026 Red Cross Gala recently brought community leaders, volunteers and supporters together at The Conservatory at One Sansome in San Francisco, Calif. to raise support for American Red Cross preparedness, response and recovery programs. The evening paid tribute to three remarkable honorees whose actions exemplify humanitarian service and advance the organization’s mission.  

Amongst the night’s inspiring moments at the Gala was when Malik Osman, a senior at Junípero Serra High School in San Mateo, received the Lifesaving Award for Professional Responders. The award is one of the highest distinctions awarded by the Red Cross and recognizes individuals who use lifesaving skills and knowledge in emergencies to save or sustain a life.  

Malik was working as a lifeguard at a youth soccer pool party last summer. Having recently completed his Red Cross lifeguard training, Malik was keeping watch over the swimmers when he noticed a young boy struggling in the deep end of the pool. 

Most of the children had left the water to play basketball, but two younger kids remained in the pool. When a toy floated into the deep end, one boy followed it without realizing the depth. As he tried to stay afloat, Malik quickly recognized the signs of distress. The child’s arms were spread outward in what is known as the instinctive drowning response. 

Without hesitation, Malik entered the water, reached the struggling child and brought him safely to the side of the pool. After lifting him onto the pool deck, Malik immediately assessed the child’s condition and began administering abdominal thrusts and CPR. 

While concerned parents gathered nearby, Malik calmly asked them to step back so he could continue the rescue. He directed someone to call 9-1-1 and continued lifesaving care until the boy began coughing and showing signs of regaining consciousness.  

When paramedics arrived, they commended Malik for his quick thinking and for following proper emergency protocols. Malik was just 16 years old but his swift and skilled response ultimately saved the child’s life.  

Malik with his family and loved ones at the 2026 Red Cross Gala.

“To tell you the truth, there wasn’t a lot of time to think or to be afraid,” said Malik. “When I saw him struggle, my Red Cross training just took over on autopilot. One minute I was scanning the pool, the next I was swimming. It wasn’t until the paramedics arrived and the boy was safe that the reality of what had just occurred hit me.” 

Malik’s commitment to humanitarian service extends well beyond the pool. After devastating earthquakes impacted communities in Syria, the third-generation Syrian American was moved by the stories of displaced families. He ran a marathon to raise funds for the Karam Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to education, mentorship, women’s empowerment and child protection for Syrian refugees. 

Malik also volunteered at the Turkey-Syria border, helping at Karam House and organizing a youth soccer camp for children in the community. 

Malik at the Youth Soccer Camp for Karam House.
Malik after his marathon run to raise funds for the Karam Foundation.

Through his dedication to preparedness, service and compassion, Malik Osman represents the goal of the Red Cross to empower individuals with the skills and confidence to act in emergencies and save lives. 

“I don’t see myself as a hero. I was just in the right place at the right time, with the right preparation. And that preparation exists because of the work the Red Cross does every day to educate and empower people in our communities,” reminisced Malik. “You give ordinary people the training to act when seconds matter, and I’m so grateful I had that knowledge when it counted.” 

GET TRAINED Red Cross training gives people the knowledge and skills to act in an emergency and save a life. A variety of online, blended (online and in-person skills session) and classroom courses are available at redcross.org/takeaclass. 

NOMINATE SOMEONE If you or someone you know has used skills and knowledge learned in an American Red Cross Training Services course to help save or sustain the life of another individual, visit LifesavingAwards.org to nominate, recognize, or be inspired. 

Fifteen Minutes of Courage: One Family’s Proof that CPR Training Saves Lives

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Debbie Vasquez (left) with her husband Phillip Vasquez (right). Photo by Mike Seely

In the early hours of September 9, Phillip Vasquez was getting ready for work at 4:30 a.m. when his routine suddenly shifted. Without warning, he collapsed. The sound of his fall jolted his wife, Debbie, awake. She rushed toward the sound in the bathroom and found her husband on the floor – unresponsive, not breathing and without a pulse.

It’s the moment no one ever expects. But it’s the moment Debbie had unknowingly prepared for over three decades.

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Hero Among Us: Vacaville Volunteer Firefighter Receives Certificate of Extraordinary Personal Action 

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Vincent Hayes, a 20-year-old Vacaville volunteer firefighter, with his CEPA

20-year-old Vincent Hayes, a Vacaville volunteer firefighter, was presented with the Certificate of Extraordinary Personal Action (CEPA) by the American Red Cross on November 18 for his heroic actions of saving a man’s life while at “The Happiest Place on Earth” in early August of this year. 

As Vincent and his girlfriend boarded the Disneyland Railroad 30 minutes before midnight, there was a commotion that caught his attention. Another couple adjacent to the ride was laying a man down on the floor after asking if “he was ok”. 

Vincent instantly took action, hopped off the slow-moving train and ran towards the couple and the man who wasn’t ok. Once on the ground, he assessed the situation and checked for the man’s pulse. He was apneic, not breathing while unconscious, and pulseless. 

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Training the Next Generation of Babysitters

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(Back Row, L to R) Berkeley Rahn, Paula Luzardo, Natalie Malas and Eloise Green. (Front Row L to R) Trey Roost, Piper Hanson, Simone Gendreau and Molly Foster hold mannequin babies during Red Cross Babysitter’s Training course at Marinwood Community Center in San Rafael, Calif.

On a recent rainy day, a dozen young students aged 10 to 13 gathered at the Marinwood Community Center in San Rafael. The three boys and nine girls were there to learn some critical skills and earn an American Red Cross Certificate through the newly updated Babysitter’s Training course. Instructor Robyn Bruton began by asking the students, “What experience do you have with babysitting?” Hands shot into the air.

One girl offered “I have a lot of little cousins I hang out with.”

“I once held a baby!” called out one boy.

Bruton says there are “no wrong answers” to that question and that in this one-day class, students would gain the skills and confidence they needed to become successful babysitters. “Parents are always looking for babysitters, and they want someone they trust. I think this just adds an additional layer that they know their babysitter had a good foundation of training.”

This year, the Red Cross debuted a revamped Babysitter’s Training course, modernized for a new generation of young people. “The class definitely needed to be modernized,” remarks Bruton.

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Certificate of Merit Awarded to Off-Duty Monterey Police Officer 

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Off-duty police officer Richard Castellon

On September 27, 2024, Richard Castellon, then an off-duty police officer with the Monterey Police Department, was walking through the hallway of his Virginia apartment complex when he noticed an unconscious man lying in the gym. Without hesitation, Richard rushed to help. He quickly checked on the man, found him unresponsive and immediately called 911. While requesting an AED from the apartment staff, he began performing CPR. 

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The Difference Between Life and Death. San Francisco Office Workers Learn Lifesaving Red Cross Skills 

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Jen Bottalico, Manager at Alex. Brown San Francisco, practices chest compressions.
Photo by Marcia Antipa / American Red Cross

One recent afternoon high up inside a San Francisco skyscraper, the sounds of “Are you alright?” and “Clear!” rang out.  Red Cross CPR manikins lay between the office desks, with a dozen office workers kneeling beside them practicing chest compressions. These employees of Alex.Brown, a division of Raymond James*, were learning the basics of lifesaving first aid measures. 

Officer Manager Jennifer Bottalico and Branch Administrative Manager Cheryl Fox arranged the training through the local Red Cross office. “We decided we wanted to try to do everything we could to kind of protect our employees because we view them as family.  So, for us, it’s just that we wanted to be able to go back to them and say if we ever had an incident that we did everything that we absolutely could,” they said. 

Cheryl Fox said she and Bottalico were inspired to take steps after a colleague in another office suffered a medical emergency.  The frightening on-field cardiac arrest of Buffalo Bills football player Damar Hamlin also drove home the need to be prepared. 

“It was scary, because I don’t think you ever think somebody of his age, that that’s going to happen to somebody that’s 20-something years old. Very scary,” she said.  

Instructor Thom Volz of VCT services, a strategic partner with the Red Cross, started the class with a pep talk.  

“Know where the first aid kits are in the places we travel to regularly, so we can get this response going, know where the AED kits are,” he said. Volz also told the class it can typically take ten minutes for first responders to arrive, so it’s important to be prepared with the equipment and skills needed to save a life. 

Volz divided the class into teams of three people, who practiced CPR on the manikins. 
“We’re trying to build habits right now,” Volz told the class, “So arms locked out, lean over the person to give compressions; one cycle of CPR for adults.” 

The team of Alex.Brown in San Francisco practicing CPR and AED use. Photo by Marcia Antipa / American Red Cross

Then the teams learned to use an AED, or automated external defibrillator, a device that analyzes the victim’s heart rhythm, and, if needed, delivers a shock to restore the normal heartbeat. 

Office Manager Bottalico says after she took a Red Cross training class, she received approval from their head office to buy an AED for the San Francisco branch. 

“If somebody’s not breathing it’s a matter of seconds, so I think the investment into an AED for the office – hopefully we never have to use it – the investment is worth it. We worked with our counterparts at Raymond James …and they didn’t hesitate.” 

The teams also learned how to save the life of a person who is choking.  Office members Renee Sessa and Samantha Hsu teamed up to practice chest thrusts. For Sessa, a frightening incident that almost took a friend’s life convinced her to take this class. 

“He was 60 and he went into cardiac arrest and luckily there was somebody that was trained and was able to immediately administer CPR to him and saved his life.” 

Renee says she wants to be able to do the same for a family member or co-worker. “I hope to be able to…save someone’s life or help save someone’s life in the event of an emergency.” 

Office Manager Bottalico says the class was a success. “We can always tell by the level of questions that are asked by the team how much they are paying attention,” she says, laughing. “They all were engaged today so I think everyone realizes the value of it. People realize that sometimes it’s going to be up to them.” 

If you would like to learn lifesaving skills, or to arrange a class for your office or organization, visit https://www.redcross.org/take-a-class   

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*Raymond James & Associates, Inc., member New York Stock Exchange/SIPC 
*Raymond James & Associates, Inc., is not affiliated with any of the above outside organizations. 

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