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Wednesday, February 22, 2006 – The Save A Life Foundation (SALF) announced today the hiring of Carrie Viehweg as Illinois State Director.

SALF’s President and Founder Carol Spizzirri said, “I am delighted to have found in Carrie someone with both the expertise and compassion to operate in this important capacity for SALF.”

A recent graduate of the University of Illinois in Springfield, Viehweg holds a Master’s degree in public administration and a bachelor’s degree in political studies. For the past eight years, she has worked in both federal and state government, leaving a position with the Illinois State Senate at the end of January to come to SALF.

“I met Carol while I was working for the Senate, where she was lobbying for funding for SALF,” said Viehweg. "Having heard the history of SALF and after meeting Carol personally, I was inspired to join the non-profit world."

SALF was founded by Spizzirri in 1993 after the tragic death of her daughter, Christina Jean Spizzirri, who bled to death after a hit-and-run incident. Because the first responders who arrived at the incident scene were not trained in Life Supporting First Aid (LSFA), they stood by helplessly waiting for emergency medical service (EMS) providers to arrive some thirty minutes later.

Spizzirri, immediately recognized the need for a change. With much research and lobbying, she was instrumental in passing an Illinois State mandate requiring that all police and fire professionals be trained in LSFA and have annual refresher courses.

Spizzirri later met with Dr. Peter Safar and Dr. Henry Heimlich, respective fathers of CPR and the Heimlich maneuver, who encouraged her to train the masses in LSFA skills, beginning with children. SALF’s mission has since shifted primarily to focus on the no-cost training of schoolchildren from kindergarten through high school.

“By training children (K-12), we are generating more responsible citizens who can handle emergencies proactively and who can successfully teach their parents the skills they have learned, as demonstrated with programs that train children in fire safety, seatbelt use, and recycling,” said Spizzirri recently.

Viehweg will be primarily responsible for developing and managing local SALF branches in Illinois, as well as securing funds and training opportunities for them.

“I am looking forward to a long and fulfilling career with SALF," she said.

To learn more about SALF, visit www.salf.org or contact Sarah H. Kaspar, National Director of Communications.