Happy Heart Month!
In honor of Heart Month, we wanted to update on our fall 2018 fundraising activities we participated in for the American Heart Associations Heart Walk this past November. It was no brainer to participate in a fundraiser for heart and stroke research since we lost a member of our ADKF family. Our fundraising activities kicked off in July with a lunch and presentation at the Petroleum Club. One of the questions the American Heart Association’s team asked was how many people have been affected by heart-related illness and every single person in the room raised their hand. That’s when everyone began searching for their “why.” The one collective reason why we fundraised and made healthy changes was for Marco, an Audit Manager who shocked the entire team when he passed away.
The first program we initiated for team members was the American Heart Association’s Check. Change. Control. program. We split up in teams and checked our blood pressure once a week for 4 months, the goal was to maintain a healthy blood pressure level throughout the program. Team members took charge of their blood pressure, began eating healthier, stopped smoking, made time to exercise and managed stress levels. We also created a friendly competition between the teams, by awarding the highest fundraising team lunch at their favorite restaurant. The staff could also buy Friday jean passes for the winter. Although, the biggest money maker was the individual fundraising everyone did. Team members sold homemade granola bars and raffled fishing trips. In total, the ADKF team raised $8,175 for the American Heart Associaton. The end of the fundraising was celebrated at the Heart Walk at Texas A&M San Antonio, despite the cold temperatures, several timed runners and non-timed walkers showed up for the big event. The team even had the opportunity to write on the memory wall, to honor those we lost.
We all look forward to our next fall fundraiser and can’t wait to see everyone supporting the American Heart Association during the month of February. The American Heart Association has amazing resources and events throughout the month and we encourage everyone to get involved.
Saturday, February 23 – Red Dress Run, Methodist Stone Oak Hospital For registration, please visit: https://runsignup.com/Race/TX/SanAntonio/Dress5KFunRunWalk
Saturday, February 23 – Vestido Rojo, La Villita For more information, visit: SAVestidoRojo.heart.org
https://www.heart.org/en/affiliates/texas/san-antonio
