The American Heart Association invites workplaces, community groups, friends and family from across Berks County to lace up their sneakers and register now for the 2015 Berks County Heart and Stroke Walk to be held Sunday, Oct. 4 at Blue Marsh Lake in Leesport. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. and the walk steps off at 10 a.m.
The Berks County Heart and Stroke Walk is a family-friendly event to promote the importance of physical activity for heart health and raise funds to support the American Heart Association’s lifesaving mission to build healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke, the nation’s number one and number five killers. This year’s event will give attendees the opportunity to walk a non-competitive, two-mile route through the grounds surrounding Blue Marsh Lake. The event also features entertainment, vendors, health information, team photos, healthy snacks and activities for kids.
The combined fundraising goal for the 2015 Berks County Heart and Stroke Walk and Lehigh Valley Heart and Stroke Walk, set for Sept. 27 at Northampton Community College in Bethlehem, is $425,000. Walkers who raise a minimum of $100 will receive a Heart Walk t-shirt and the opportunity to receive additional prizes based on their fundraising levels.
Dollars raised by the American Heart Association through events, like the Heart Walk, fund cardiovascular disease and stroke research, as well as public and professional programs and advocacy. The American Heart Association’s 2020 Impact Goal is to improve the cardiovascular health of all Americans by 20 percent while reducing deaths from cardiovascular diseases and stroke by 20 percent by the year 2020.
The Heart Walk is sponsored nationally by Subway Restaurants and locally by East Penn Manufacturing, EnerSys, Lehigh Valley Business Coalition on Healthcare and Schneider Electric.
For more information about the Berks County Heart and Stroke Walk or to sign up to participate, visit www.heart.org/lehighberkswalk or call 614-396-3503.
