Health + Wellness
Nonprofit Spotlight: American Heart Association Tampa Bay
As most moms will probably admit, we don’t always make ourselves a priority. It’s easy to let things fall to the wayside, especially when it comes to our health. According to the American Heart Association, 1 in 3 women will have their lives cut short by heart disease. That number is sobering as I think about all of the women in my life that I care about. I recently rode in a car with two dear friends on our way to another friend’s baby shower. If this statistic holds true, one of us who carpooled together that day will end up dying from heart disease. This is a fact that I am not okay with and you shouldn’t be either.
Background
While the American Heart Association is a nationally recognized non-profit organization, that has been around for close to 95 years, it strives to maintain a strong local presence as well. The Tampa Bay office is located in St. Pete and they facilitate events in our community throughout the year to raise awareness and funds for both cardiovascular disease and strokes. To date, some of the biggest advances in cardiovascular medicine have been made possible, in part, by fundraising and efforts of the American Heart Association.
Go Red for Women & National Wear Red Day
As part of their Go Red For Women campaign, the American Heart Association has named February 1st, 2019 as its Annual National Wear Red Day. According to Michele Money-Carson, VP of Communications for our local American Heart Association chapter, people across Tampa Bay (and especially moms!) can use their unique voices to get the word out thru social media sharing in the following ways:
List and tag 3 women you can’t live without on your social media, use the hashtags #TBGoRed, #WearRedDay, #1in3 and challenge your friends to do the same.
Dress your babies and pets in red and use the hashtags #TBGoRed and #WearRedDay so we can see and share them.
Go on a red scavenger hunt and show off what’s red around you–it’s fun with the kids too! Use the hashtags #TBGoRed and #WearRedDay.
Post about why or how you won’t be #1in3 and use #TBGoRed.
Money-Carson also wants people to know that The Go Red for Women campaign and National Wear Red Day are more than just a message. “It’s a nationwide movement that celebrates the energy, passion, and power we have as women to band together to wipe out heart disease and stroke. It’s an easy, powerful way to spread awareness and support the mission of Go Red for Women, which is to provide them with opportunities to prioritize and take charge of their own health, build communities that support and provide access to healthy choices, demand equal access to healthcare for all women and their families and increase women in STEM in future generations.”
Get Involved
For more information on local involvement thru attending the Go Red For Women Luncheon on February 15th, 2019, go to the Tampa Bay Go Red for Women website.
You can also click here for simple things that you can do to help prevent yourself from being the 1 in 3.