After growing up surrounded by their father’s medical expertise, Valencia sisters Maci and Cambria Lawrence have decided to create their own project geared towards securing the safety of students throughout the William S. Hart Union High School District.

When Cambria, a 14-year-old freshman at Valencia High School, and her sister Maci, a 12-year-old eighth grader at Legacy Christian Academy, saw the need to make their schools safer, they began a campaign to create potentially life-saving “bleed kits.”

After partnering with the Hart District, WiSH Foundation and Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital, their school safety dream was made a reality.

Through their campaign, the sisters were able to fund their entire “Keep the Pressure” project by reaching their $100,000 goal through mostly private funders, and Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital.

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The project will allow all classrooms throughout the Hart District to have a potentially life-saving bleed kit in the event of a mass trauma incident, such as an earthquake, according to the Lawrence sisters.

“My daughters are passionate about this idea of making change and the possibility of saving lives,” said Bud Lawrence, director of emergency medicine at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital. “Although I can give the girls technical and professional input, they were the ones meeting with the vendors and deciding kit contents.”

All within a plastic easy-open, pill-shaped container, the kit will consist of:

–      2 military grade tourniquets to stop bleeding from an arm or leg

–      1 compression dressing (much like a specialized ace wrap)

–      1 QuikClot Gauze (special gauze that helps the body form a clot, stopping bleeding)

–      1 survival blanket (cold people tend to bleed more)

–      1 pair of trauma shears to cut away clothing and get better access to the wound

–      1 pair of gloves for personal protection

“We wanted to start this project in order to provide a safe environment for our community and schools,” said the Lawrence sisters. “Many of our friends and some of our family live in the Santa Clarita Valley. We just want to be able to secure their safety and the safety of others in case of an emergency.”

In about two months, the kits will be introduced into all classrooms. Students and staff will have the opportunity to watch an educational video and will be offered hands-on training with the help of Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital, according to their father.

Dave Caldwell, a spokesperson for the Hart District, says the kits are an amazing gift and that the district can’t thank the Lawrence family and Henry Mayo Hospital enough for their generosity.

“Our goal is to give our local students and teachers the tools and education to save someone’s life,” said the Lawrence sisters. “We want to make sure that if an emergency occurs where someone has uncontrolled bleeding, the tools are available to stop that bleeding.”

Although they hope that the kits are never used, the sisters are thankful that the Hart District will be one of the few districts nationally to have such an extensive program to make their schools safer.

“It’s rare that you get to make this type of change and impact in a community,” said the sisters. “We feel fortunate to be able to provide these resources to our schools.”

And although the successful campaign is coming to a wrap, the sisters will soon be obtaining nonprofit status to be able to accept community donations for future projects.

“To say that I am proud of Cambria and Maci would be an understatement,” said their father. “I love that my daughters were able to see the need and fill the void with something that truly could save lives.”

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