PARMA, Ohio — A Parma City Schools first-grader walked into what she thought was a school assembly and walked out with tickets to the Super Bowl.
Amelia Weis, a student at Dentzler Elementary School, won two tickets to the 2027 Super Bowl, along with flights and a hotel, after completing the American Heart Association's Kids Heart Challenge.
The program teaches students hands-only CPR, warning signs of a stroke and encourages them to raise funds for heart research.
"So with the Kids Heart Challenge, it's just a fun program that the schools do in school, and they go home with their families and can learn hands-only CPR, warning signs of a stroke and then raise life-saving funds for heart research with their families at home," said Ashley Abner, development director of school engagement for the American Heart Association.
The challenge asks students to complete what the program calls "Finn's mission," an online assignment that takes about 15 minutes and covers life-saving skills. Every student who completes the mission is entered to win. Amelia was selected from that pool.
For Amelia, the assignment felt less like schoolwork and more like something she simply had to finish.
"In kindergarten you don't get a lot of homework, and she asks for homework, so that it was homework to her, and she wanted to get it done," said Amelia's mother, Sarah Weis.
Neither Amelia nor her parents knew a prize was coming. The family was called in for what they were told was an award ceremony. But when they got there, they were shocked.
"Shocked. I was just so surprised because I had no idea what this was about," Sarah Weis said.
The American Heart Association, in partnership with the NFL, awarded the trip to five students across the country who completed the Kids Heart Challenge. One student from each region of the country wins Super Bowl tickets, and one school wins a $10,000 gym makeover.
The partnership with the NFL was inspired in part by Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, who went into cardiac arrest on the field in 2023.
"Learning how to save a life, like what happened with Damar Hamlin when he went into cardiac arrest, everyone can know how to save someone's life in that situation, and we just want to spread that education to as many people as we can," Abner said.
Nadeen Abusada is a Cuyahoga County and immigration reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow her on Instagram NadeenAbusada or email her at Nadeen.Abusada@wews.com.
