Mayor Karl Dean, Dr. William Paul to join October 1st event, kicking off Walk Nashville Week
Nashville, TN – More than 10,000 people are expected on Saturday, October 1 for one of the biggest fundraising walks in all of Tennessee, the American Heart Association’s Nashville Heart Walk, at Vanderbilt University.
This year’s Heart Walk, one of the largest Heart Walks in the nation, will also be the official kickoff for Walk Nashville Week, and Mayor Karl Dean and Dr. William Paul of Metro Public Health Department will join the festivities in support of Nashville’s efforts to achieve better health.
The Heart Walk is the biggest single fundraiser for the American Heart Association to fight heart disease and stroke, America’s No. 1 and No. 3 killers, and a leading killer of children. The annual event is a non-competitive, 5K walk with teams of employees from more than 100 local companies, along with friends and family members of all ages. It’s a walk and a festival, all in one – and raises money for vital research, education and community programs. This year’s Nashville Heart Walk goal is $1.4 million.
Funds raised for the Heart Walk help put up-to-the-minute research into doctors’ hands so they can better prevent and treat heart disease among patients; fund groundbreaking pediatric heart and stroke research; help hospitals establish best practice treatment guidelines; and get life-saving information to those who need it most, such as how make lifestyle choices to prevent cardiovascular disease, how to recognize the warning signs of heart attack or stroke, and how to talk to a doctor about critical health choices. Funds also support public policy work such as CPR classes, healthy lunches and physical activity in Tennessee schools. More than $6 million in active research grants are being funded by the association right now in Middle Tennessee alone. All of these programs are dependent on donations.
Heart Walk festivities start at 8 a.m. and the walk itself starts at 10. To learn more, visit www.nashvilleheartwalk.org.
What is going on that day?
- 8:00am: Festivities begin
- 9:30am: Speeches and stage presentation (including Mayor Karl Dean and Dr. William Paul), emcee’ed by News2’s Cory Curtis and Dawn Davenport
- 10:00am: Walk begins
- 12:00pm: Walk and festivities wrap up
What are the festivities?
From 8:00am to 10:00am, before the Heart Walk starts, enjoy the many family-friendly festival activities on site, including:
- Kids’ fun: bouncees, jump ropes, crafts, blow-up game, climbing wall, facepainting, fire house
- Caricature, photo booth
- CPR and AED training
- Health screenings for free
- Go Red for Women area for women’s heart health
- Healthy cooking food demos
- Exercise demos
- Teaching Gardens demo and display
- Choice Challenge
- Supermarket Sweep
- Company photos
- Red Cap area, where heart disease and stroke survivors can share their stories and get a Red Cap as a badge of honor
- Survivor tribute walls
My Life Check quiz station where you can measure your heart health (also at www.mylifecheck.org)
There will be giveaways throughout the festival area. WRVW 107.5 The River will play music for walkers along the route, and route signs and hydration stations will be provided. Dogs on leashes are welcome. Light breakfast food and drinks will be available before the walk, as well as Subway sandwiches after the walk.
About My Heart
My Life. My Heart. My Life. is the American Heart Association’s cause platform that helps individuals, families and communities achieve a healthy lifestyle through physical activity and good nutrition for adults and children. The Heart Walk is part of this cause. Cardiovascular disease is the nation’s No. 1 killer, accounting for 1 in 3 deaths, yet up to 80% of cardiovascular disease is preventable through healthy living.
My Heart. My Life. is sponsored nationally by SUBWAY® Restaurants and sponsored locally by Vanderbilt Heart. The Red Caps are sponsored by Wal-Mart. Local media sponsors of the Nashville Heart Walk include WKRN News2 and WRVW The River 107.5. For more, visit www.nashvilleheartwalk.org, www.heart.org, or www.myheartmylife.org.
