Never skipping a beat, Heart Walk 2013 is set

Photo

Spreading awareness about the 2013 Youngstown Area Heart Walk are, from left, T.J. Meister from WBBG; Allison Oltmann, Heart Walk director; Dave Sess, from WKBN-TV 27; and Doug Sweeney, chairman of the Heart Walk. The walk will take place Sept. 21 at the WATTS at Youngstown State University and has a fundraising goal of $250,000. NANCY URCHAK | SPECIAL TO THE VINDICATOR

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

The 2013 Youngstown Area Heart Walk, set for Sept. 21 at the WATTS at Youngstown State University, is expected to draw a couple of thousand participants. This year’s chairman is Doug Sweeney of Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC.

Walkers will be able to buy American Heart Association Torches, colored red for heart disease survivors and white for stroke survivors. Before the walk begins, a special ceremony will showcase the torches, which are being introduced this year.

Organizers hope for about 2,000 participants, and the fundraising goal is $250,000. The money will help fund heart and stroke research and education as part of an ongoing fight against the national health crisis. The course of the walk covers about 1.25 miles of the YSU campus.

Those who want to walk and raise funds may register by calling the American Heart Association at 330-318-1002 or by visiting www.heart.org/youngstownwalk. Money raised by the walk comes from corporate sponsorships, Heart Walk teams and individual donations.

This year’s top sponsors of the fundraising walk are Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC, Akron Children’s Hospital Mahoning Valley, Covelli Enterprises, St. Elizabeth Heart & Vascular Center, ValleyCare Health System, Boak & Sons and Dearing Compressor. National sponsors are Subway and Jenny Craig. Media sponsors are The Vindicator, Clear Channel Youngstown, Time Warner Cable, WKBN-TV 27 and Armstrong Cable.

Heart disease and stroke are the No. 1 and No. 4 leading causes of death, so the AHA has set a goal to cut the number of deaths by 20 percent while improving the overall cardiovascular health of Americans by 20 percent by 2020.

The Heart Walk is part of the AHA’s program My Heart, My Life, which urges all Americans to take control of their health by changing their lifestyle.