American Red Cross

Been trying for weeks to sign up for a CPR/​AED/​First Aid class, but their website won’t let me do it. None of my requests for help have been responded to.

Did my CPR/​First Aid training for adults and kids last week. Had a great experience.
If you sign up, make sure to do the online portion, and take the test at the end! Some people didn’t do that or forgot to print out the certificate which the instructor WILL CHECK!
If you don’t take the test online, which is just 30 simple MC questions after watching two hours worth of short video tutorials, you have to take a written test after the workshop! That is no fun, so bring your certificate!
Also this is something fun to do with a friend because they pair you up to practice the heimlich and other emergency procedures which was kinda awkward for me to do with a strange man…
The certificates are online and you get it after one day via email! It’s super convenient in case you lose it, you can print another one.
I also was able to secure a coupon code for 30% online so I only paid 70!
I had been putting this off cause I didn’t know much about it, but the whole thing is super super super easy! And you learn a lot of emergency protocols.

I did the First Aid/​CPR/​AED for Adults & Paediatrics due to my friend saying she had the best class here with a 17 year old guy instructor who was «so awesome and knowledgeable». I got Anthony Casanova as an instructor and wasted my money. I didn’t learn much at all and could barely understand his accent which isn’t his fault. Mr Casanova spent the majority of time with irrelevant stories like getting drunk on the beach in Nicaragua impressing the girls. I left completely unable and unconfident to help or save anyone’s life. He started late, finished early, wasted our time. If it wasn’t for the good work of the Red Cross I’d make sure to get my money back.
Go here if you can be assured NOT to get Anthony Casanova. He was a lovely man personally but had this «island approach» to everything and just wanted to chat and not clearly go over the procedures. We got less than an hours worth of info out of him in a 6.5 hour course. I don’t want to be mean but he was so bad and I just can’t believe the Red Cross have hired this hack for over 25 years according to him.
Please be aware of this clown and know that he will waste your time and money.

One of the best non-​profits in the city. Great people doing great works.
Here is the link for a host of courses offered that can make a impact on your community and help focus your volunteer interests and skills.
If you wish to donate blood, please click the link below:

Awesome staff. I swear they remember my face LoL!
Decided to give everything I would’ve spent on a blazer at J Crew to help fund the relief efforts in Japan. This is probably my largest donation to date but it felt great.
+100 for accepting credit cards. Take my money already guys! I still haven’t seen it posted on my credit card. =D

I came here to take my CPR/​First Aide Training. It was easy to register for the course. The teacher was awesome! 8 hour class and she made it go by really fast. (Sorry I forgot her name.) I had to pay for this class. I dont know when they have those free classes.
Now as I write this, I have to get re certified! ha

If you want to practice your non french kissing skills, this is the place to go. I just did the 8 hour CPR/​first aid for adults and infants, what a blast. I had to kiss the manequin at least 100 times and the baby one another 30. I had to lay down on the so-​so not clean carpet and smell my neighbors bad breath or was it mine?
Anyway, this is it. i am CPR/​first aid certified so if you see me come and help you when you cut one leg or fall from a bus, do not be afraid I now know what I am doing.
Class was actually good and apart from the kissing and the smell, I have learnt a lot.
i just hope noone will sue me after I help them…

Thank you American Red Cross Bay Area Chapter for my certificate to perform CPR! If I had not went to one of the many sessions they have, I would not have learned so much from basic first aid to making sure you ask «Are you okay?» to an unconscious person before starting CPR. =)
The class was held on Saturday but it was free and might I say, I am pretty impressed with what I can do with that silly looking dummy.
remember your ABC’s!

The American Red Cross is wonderful. If you’re ever in a rut or lost, go the the Red Cross.

I won’t comment on the classes as I have never taken them but I can vouch for the staff as they are fantastic people.
I had to drop off a check for my company’s support of the relief efforts in China and from the moment I stepped into the office, they were very accomodating.
Great organization and the do a lot in the Bay Area… not just San Francisco.

I had been putting it off and putting it off for weeks now…
finally decided to get the CPR training that I need for work, so I payed my $ 45 and chose the San Rafael location out of convenience. So they say the class is from 6pm-10:30, but it ended at 9 (thank god.)
Honestly, it may sound dumb but I wish everyone was required to take this course. In 3 hours I not only learned how to master CPR, but learn an incredible amount of first aid as well.
My friends are not going to believe that I, out of all people, am now certified to use an AED machine (i.e. those shocker things that you do to a person’s chest). That might have been my favorite part of the class.
I have to admit. I’m pretty impressed with myself.
While there were no hot firefighters/​lifeguards teaching the class like I had dreamt about, I’d do it over again anytime.

Have you been certified for CPR recently? They actually managed to make it easier from when I was certified in 8^th grade. Two consecutive evenings from 6 – 10:30, even though the classes ended at 9 on both nights. Give me some chests to pound!!!

I gotta give five stars for such an awesome organization. FREE CPR certification around the bay area today, praising us for taking the time out on the weekend to learn, when they are doing so much to save the lives of so many! I got to hear a lot about emergency situations («Drop. Cover. Hold On!»), not to mention what to do when someone is choking and/​or unconscious. They offer a multitude of classes so we can all help and not sit idly by while everyone is in a panic. It was a pleasant experience, even though the dvd was a little boring.

I don’t mean to sound all dooms day and end of times and l ron hubbard and shit but listen, the BIG ONE is coming. i can feel it in my bones (and yes, i have bones under the layers and layers of fat so fuck you). listen now and hear me later or listen now and fucking listen up NOW because WE NEED TO BE PREPARED! i may talk shit about all you fools behind your backs on a regular basis but if i find out that any of the Unilocalers die in the BIG ONE (it’s coming!!), i will be like this: :-(. So get your ass to the American Red Cross store and stock up on water purifying tablets, emergency food bars (actually very delicious, i had to delve into mine when i was stuck in traffic on the way back from Sacramento. it was an EMERGENCY, i could have DIED from MILD HUNGER PANGS.) and those really cool flashlight/​radio/​cell phone charger things that you charge yourself by making a motion like your jerking your wang.
Seriously, go here now. I don’t want to go all Alive on you and be forced to eat your head because you weren’t smart enough to plan ahead. I’m vegan strictly as a protest to the revolting factory farming in this country but I have no problem eating you… in fact, I bet with all the eating you do, you are fatty and delicious.
Also, the most adorable gay boy works here so if you’re looking for an adorable gay boy, he’s your man. Plus, he’d be good to have around in an emergency. Like the BIG ONE. it’s coming. I mean, look around you, the signs are everywhere. This planet is fucking FUCKED and I can’t say that we don’t deserve it because humans really are disgusting and awful but I would like to be around to re-​build civilization with John Travolta and a bunch of robots.

CPR isn’t about saving a life. Yes, you may save a random life with it, but mostly CPR is about saving the life of someone you love. Face it… if you aren’t a medical or 911 professional, the odds of having to save a stranger on the street are a fraction of having to deal with a parent/​child/​significant other at home who is choking or whose heart for whatever reason isn’t pumping blood.
Yes, it can happen to you. Kids drown it pools, adults get steak caught in their throat or hurt in accidents or party too hard, older people’s tickers just give out. CPR training gives you a good shot at saving these lives. And its just a few hours to learn.
I’ve had CPR in the past, my card was expired, decided to renew at the American Red Cross. I picked ARC because they happened to have a conveniently scheduled class. But wow… did I luck out. The instructor, Tony Douglas, was excellent, head and shoulders above any CPR instructions I’ve had before. Knew the material cold, told just enough cool paramedic stories to keep people interested without wasting class time, was articulate, and best of all, was full of useful tips and tricks. For example, rescue breathing requires a breath every five seconds (one one thousand, two one thousand…) and counting cycles (1, 2, 3) but its easy to get confused. Tony’s solution? Use months (January, February…) to count the cycles. Simple and effective.
I cornered Tony after class and he said he also teaches for the American Heart Association and can do private or group certification classes. He’s good. Contact him at
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