Elko school receives $15,000 for gym makeover with the help of the Las Vegas Raiders

ELKO, Nev. (KOLO) - An elementary school in Elko is about to have a new gym thanks to the American Heart Association, and the Las Vegas Raiders.

Students and staff at Mountain View Elementary in Elko got a huge surprise as the American Heart Association and the NFL Foundation gifted them $15,000 to give their gym a complete makeover. Jeannie Baumann, the P.E. teacher at Mountain View, explained that it's all part of the 'Kids Heart Challenge Program,' where students, staff, and families learn signs of a stroke and how to do hands only CPR.

"I can lead all I want, but unless they learn, follow, and except the challenge, we don't go anywhere," Baumann said. "The challenge for Finn's Mission is to have students and everybody be prepared in the face of an emergency. You never know when someone is going to go down."

According to American Heart Association data, 9 out of every 10 people who experience cardiac arrest outside of a hospital die, in part because they do not receive immediate CPR. They add that CPR, especially if performed immediately, can double or triple a person's chance of survival. Students who participate in the program, receive free Hands-Only CPR instruction so they can be confident and capable to respond in a cardiac emergency. More than 350,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur in the United States each year, 70% of those occurring at home. For every 18 people who completed the training, the school was entered into the drawing. Baumann says they've been trying to win for the last six years.

"When there's 21,000 schools participating you don't ever dream it'll be you that wins," said Baumann.

The best part is that the prize includes a visit from the Las Vegas Raiders, where they will do a junior football camp with the kids. Elko County Superintendent, Clayton Anderson, said when the news was delivered to the 505 students, it caused quite the commotion.

"It's just like another Christmas that showed up all of a sudden," Anderson said. "There was a lot of screaming, fists bumping in the air, and waving all around."

As for how Baumann wants to use the money, she says, she's looking forward to building a brand new rock wall.

"I just think it's a new skill that some of them may not have ever been exposed to," Baumann said.

The staff at Mountain View said that once a date for the junior football camp is chosen, they'll invite KOLO 8 out for a follow up, where we can also see the new gym, in action.