A quarter of a century after facing death in the pounding surf of Coalcliff Beach, Dave Winner has transformed his personal tragedy into a national mission to equip Australians with lifesaving skills.
A Life Saved, A Mission Born
Twenty-five years ago, Dave Winner's life was dramatically altered when a horrific accident at Coalcliff Beach left him with a broken neck, drowned, and in cardiac arrest. His survival hinged entirely on the swift actions of two bystanders who performed CPR.
"The ocean decided to throw me back onto the rocks, and two young blokes knew how to do CPR," Mr Winner recalled. "If they weren't there and didn't know what to do, I wouldn't be here today." That moment of being granted a second chance ignited a powerful drive within him to ensure others could be just as fortunate.
Scaling Up Lifesaving Knowledge
To turn his vision into reality, Mr Winner established the Dave Winner Foundation. Its flagship initiative, 'Saving Lives One Beat at a Time,' has already successfully trained an impressive 261,000 people across Australia in CPR.
The foundation's work received a significant boost on Monday, October 27, when it became one of 58 not-for-profit organisations to secure a grant from the IMB Bank Community Foundation. This year marks the 26th year of the grant program, which has now distributed $13 million to 1,100 different Australian organisations.
"This year there will be $700,000 distributed between the 58; that could be as low as a few thousand dollars right through to a hundred thousand dollars," said IMB Bank Chief Executive Robert Ryan.
A Digital Leap Forward
The newly acquired funding is set to catapult the foundation's efforts into the digital age. A major portion of the grant will support the development of a new smartphone application, designed to put vital CPR knowledge directly into the pockets of everyday Australians.
"The app is quite expensive to produce, that's why this grant [is so important]," Mr Winner explained. He expressed hope that a partnership with IMB would ensure the app's completion. This technological tool is central to his ambitious goal of training more than one million Australians by 2030.
Mr Winner is particularly focused on reaching those who might not otherwise seek out formal training. "The people I aim to train are all the people who wouldn't normally come and do CPR [training]... people like the nannies and poppies," he said, highlighting the importance of empowering grandparents and community members.
The critical need for widespread CPR knowledge was underscored by a poignant encounter at one of his classes. A man approached him and shared, "You wouldn't remember, but I was actually the first person there, I got there just before those other two guys - and I didn't know what to do. So I got all traumatised and I grabbed my daughter and went home." This story fuels Mr Winner's determination to ensure no one else feels that helplessness.
The IMB grants also supported other vital community initiatives, including POD Projects, a volunteer organisation that provides dignity bags filled with essentials and toiletries to people in need. Gail Isedale of POD Projects said the grant would help them maintain their services amid rising costs, allowing them to provide at least 400 bags and aim for a thousand by 2026.
For IMB Bank's Robert Ryan, the grant day is a highlight. "This is one of those days in the year where you actually feel like you're putting back into the community and supporting people who give all their time volunteering for not-for-profit projects."
From the rocks of Coalcliff to communities across the nation, Dave Winner's legacy is one of turning a personal second chance into a national movement for safety, preparedness, and compassion.
