Woodland student runs for good cause

Rachel Polansky may not be old enough to vote, but she doesn’t let that stop her from taking action to make a difference in her community. The 12-year-old Woodland Middle School student raised $1,568 for the Robbie Levine Foundation at the organization’s sixth annual Robbie’s Run last month.

Sending emails to family, friends and neighbors, Rachel assembled a team of more than 80 participants to join her in the fight against sudden cardiac arrest. Robbie’s Run is an annual 5K race hosted by the foundation to create awareness of the importance of furnishing youth sports facilities with automated external defibrillators, or AEDs. Its participants solicit donations, and the proceeds have been used to provide youth sports organizations throughout the New York area with defibrillators.

Dr. Craig and Jill Levine founded the organization in honor of their 9-year-old son, Robbie, who died suddenly when his heart stopped during a baseball practice in 2005.

“It feels good that I can make a difference in saving a life,” said Rachel. “What happened to Robbie can happen to anyone. If he had a defibrillator, he might have lived.”

Rachel used the event as her bat mitzvah project.

Sudden cardiac arrest is the leading cause of death among youth athletes, and claims nearly 340,000 lives each year. According to the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, close to half of the deaths caused by sports-related injuries are attributable to sudden cardiac arrest. It is estimated that one case of cardiac arrest occurs every three days in organized sports. Without immediate access to defibrillators, the chances of survival are extremely low.

For Rachel, Robbie’s Run was an opportunity to use her athleticism to contribute to a cause that has influenced the lives of multiple generations of her family. Her cousins were schoolmates of Robbie Levine’s. A few years after Robbie’s death, she learned firsthand about the importance of defibrillators when her grandfather died after suffering a massive heart attack.

“I am so proud that she was able to put together a team of 83 people and raise so much money for something that is near and dear to us,” said Rachel’s mother, Lori Polansky. “It’s a very rewarding experience as a parent.”