The NOLA Network

10/16/2026

❤️💜 FRIDAY FACT: A Heart Attack and Sudden Cardiac Arrest Are NOT the Same!

Think of your heart like a home. 🏠

Just like your home, your heart has plumbing, an electrical system, and a structure.

❤️ A HEART ATTACK is a plumbing problem. A blocked artery restricts blood flow to part of the heart, much like a clogged pipe.

⚡ SUDDEN CARDIAC ARREST is often linked to electrical or structural problems. Like faulty wiring or structural issues in a home, certain heart conditions can trigger a dangerous rhythm that suddenly stops the heart from pumping blood effectively.

Here’s why knowing the difference matters:

Heart attacks are uncommon in children and teens, but sudden cardiac arrest can strike young people who appear perfectly healthy.

When a young person suddenly collapses, we often hear it described as a heart attack. But that’s not necessarily what happened.

Understanding the difference helps us recognize risks, promote early detection, and prepare communities to respond.

🚨 If someone collapses, is unresponsive, and isn’t breathing normally, call 911, begin CPR, and use an AED immediately.

💜💛💚 Prevent. Prepare. Respond.

10/14/2026

October is Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Month, and we’re on the road, furthering our mission to prevent SCA in youth!

In 2017, Vari Benson lost his life to an on campus cardiac arrest in North Carolina. Today, our Keep the Beat – Vari Benson Sudden Cardiac Arrest Prevention Project is visiting the Tar Heel State to provide East Rowan High School, providing preventative ECG heart screenings for students!

We’re grateful to East Rowan High School for welcoming our team and helping us take another step toward healthier students, safer schools, and stronger communities.

10/13/2026

Today, we remember Caroline Smith. ❤️

Caroline was a graduate of Marist School in Atlanta, Georgia, and was attending Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, when she suffered a sudden cardiac arrest while visiting Hilton Head Island. Tragically, Caroline did not survive. As with so many young people who experience SCA, Caroline had no previously diagnosed conditions. Caroline had been a cheerleader and a runner—but more than that, she was a sister, a daughter, & a friend. H

Her life was cut short, but her story continues.

Through the Smith Family Cardiac Foundation, affectionately known as Caroline’s Foundation, her family is honoring her memory while working to raise awareness and help protect other young lives. From placing AEDs, advocating for screenings and partnering with us the_nola_network to provide ECGs, powered by whoweplayfor, the Smith Family has worked together ensure Caroline’s memory lives.

Vari & Caroline did not meet in life, but their lives continue to impact our work and have helped to save others. These are more than stories of loss. These stories are of the lives that have saved others, beyond their own. They are reminders of why our work matters.

Sudden cardiac arrest can happen to young people, often without warning. Raising awareness about underlying heart conditions, increasing access to preventative heart screenings, and ensuring communities are prepared to respond with CPR and AEDs can help save lives.

Today, we remember Caroline, honor the Smith family, and recognize the beautiful legacy they continue to build in her name.

Caroline Smith. Forever loved. Never forgotten. 💜

10/12/2026

Meet Lekesha Benson, Co-Founder & Executive Director!

With over 20 years of experience in nonprofit leadership, Lekesha has dedicated her career to supporting youth, strengthening communities, advancing health equity, and creating opportunities for individuals and families to thrive.

Following the heartbreaking loss of her 21-year-old son, Javaris “Vari” Benson, to sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) in 2017, Lekesha turned personal tragedy into a mission to help save lives. In his memory, she developed the Keep the Beat – Vari Benson Sudden Cardiac Arrest Prevention Project, an initiative focused on preventing sudden cardiac death through heart screenings, CPR education, and community awareness.

Today, her leadership continues to drive The NOLA Network’s mission of improving health and educational outcomes by increasing access to essential services and resources.

For Lekesha, this work is more than a career. It’s personal, it’s purposeful, and it’s rooted in a commitment to turning pain into purpose and creating lasting change. 💜

Join us each month as we introduce the dedicated people working behind the scenes to bring our mission to life!

10/01/2026

Sudden Cardiac Arrest prevention begins with awareness.

Keep the Beat works to help students, families, coaches, educators, and community members recognize potential warning signs and understand the importance of quick, appropriate action during an emergency.

Awareness is the first step. Preparation is the next.

Nolanetwork

09/25/2026

💗 Thank you again to the Gamma Nu Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated® and the Pink & Green Community Service Foundation, Inc. for helping us Keep the Beat and Save a Life.

Come out for the Fall Into Wellness Blood Drive & Health Fair, support the blood drive, visit community health partners, and make heart health part of your family’s wellness plan.

08/04/2026

An AED can’t save a life if it’s locked inside a school building while the emergency is happening on the football field, baseball diamond, or at an away game.

That’s why, under the Smart Heart Act, schools must ensure AEDs are readily accessible where practices, games, and other athletic activities take place.

The NOLA Network works with schools to help strengthen cardiac emergency preparedness through:
⚡ AED readiness guidance
❤️ Cardiac Emergency Response Plan (CERP) support
🩺 CPR & AED training
🏫 Sudden Cardiac Arrest education

Because when every second counts, having the right equipment in the right place can make all the difference.

If your school needs support to implement the Smart Heart Act, we’re here to help.

📞 864-900-4488
🌐 www.thenolanetwork.org

08/01/2026

07/30/2026

❤️ Every heartbeat matters.

At The NOLA Network, our name stands for No Other Life Affected—and that’s more than a name. It’s our mission.

Through Keep the Beat: The Vari Benson SCA Prevention Project, we partner with schools, churches, athletic programs, and community organizations to provide low-cost preventive student heart screenings throughout South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia.

Our goal is simple: identify hidden heart conditions before tragedy strikes, increase access to early detection, and help ensure no other life is affected by sudden cardiac arrest.

Interested in bringing heart screenings to your school or community?

📧 [email protected]
🌐 www.thenolanetwork.org

Together, we can protect more hearts, empower more families, and make sure every heartbeat matters.

❤️

07/29/2026

Thanks to the generous sponsorship of Smiling Hearts: The Nick Blakely Foundation, we’ll be offering preventative heart screenings in Loganville, GA, this Saturday for no charge.

The family of Nick Blakely continues to work to honor his life & legacy by partnering with whoweplayfor & the_nola_network’s Keep The Beat project to ensure that Georgia student athletes have access to these preventative heart screenings. Sign up today & help us make sure no other life is affected by sudden cardiac arrest.