On January 2nd, football fans around the world saw or heard of Damar Hamlin’s cardiac arrest during a football game. He had no health issues prior to this and no known heart defects. But seeing this happen scared many and has raised awareness.
In the month of February, our elementary students will be learning about the heart. The school nurse will go to each classroom and present on the heart, its function and some “fun facts” about the heart. They will also learn about some dangers of not taking good care of your heart. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. Risk factors are: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, diabetes, being overweight, eating unhealthy, being inactive and excessive alcohol usage. This topic is so important that we are asking for your help in continuing this teaching at home with your kids. 1 in every 100 children born in the United States is born with some form of heart defect. We want to do our part in helping these children by partnering with Kids heart Challenge thru the American Heart Association. This year’s theme is “Be the Torch”. Let’s help our kids learn so they can light the way to a brighter future. Even if you don’t have a child in the elementary school, you can log on, create an account and learn more. Raising awareness is the first step. Helping raise funds continues that help far beyond our reach.
Starting Feb 1st, we want you to log on to www.heart.org/KHC and join us in raising this awareness. You can make social media posts or even send emails to your friends and family. When you create an account, you get lots of resources on being active, eating healthy and learning simple CPR as a family. Now is the best time to teach our kids how to take care of their heart. Even if you decide not to fundraise, click on the links for the great information it has to offer. Funds raised go to help children with heart needs. Our school can even earn money for PE equipment to keep our huskie hearts healthy. Your child will get a torch bracelet for signing up. When a child starts to raise funds, they earn a prize for every level they reach. There is no pressure to fundraise, just raise awareness.
Kids heart challenge will last from February 1st through February 15, 2023 with collections due by the end of the month.
Log on, look up videos and learn about heart health today. Better yet, take a pic of you or your family doing something heart healthy and post it on the school’s web page tagged: #hearthealthyhuskie