About The Minutes Matter Project

The project was started by Chloe Parris, who was inspired to help after her husband James had a life-changing accident. James is an avid surfer and most days can be found surfing one of the many beaches in Mendocino. In March of 2026, James was surfing at Big River Beach in Mendocino, one of his usual spots, when he was attacked by a shark. The shark bit both of James’ legs, severing two of his tendons and causing tissue and muscle damage. Chloe, a nurse, was working a shift in the emergency department when the attack occurred.

Despite this James was lucky. By pure chance, he happened to be in the water that day with two off-duty California State Park lifeguards and the very surgeon who would go on to repair his tendons. The right people were there at exactly the right moment.

For Chloe, the incident was both deeply personal and impossible to stop thinking about. So many what ifs filled her mind: What if it had happened at one of the more remote beaches along the Mendocino coast, somewhere with no cell service, few people, or first responders? What if the shark had hit an artery? What if the bystanders nearby didn’t know what to do?

After the attack Chloe joined an Australian-based Facebook group for shark bite survivors and their loved ones called “The Bite Club.” In this group, she learned about a project that survivors in Australia created called “Shark bite kits,” which puts bleed control kits at their beaches. This sparked something in her and she decided that is the perfect thing for the Mendocino coast. After reaching out to the group, she began creating her own version of the Shark Bite Kits and the Minutes Matter Project was started.

The Mendocino coast, while beautiful, is both remote and dangerous. While shark bites are rare, other injuries such as diving or boating accidents, falling off the cliffs, or even dog bites happen regularly. Our EMS crew is amazing; still, some locations take 20-30 minutes to reach, if you can even find service to call 911. Having bleed control kits at these locations can be a matter of life and death.

Every minute matters when acute blood loss happens, it only takes 5 minutes to bleed out.