The 2010 Champaign County Heart & Stroke Ball’s Special Appeal Campaign is led by Mr. Tim Murphy.
The Learn & Live Special Appeal is an “ask” for donations that happens before, during and after the AHA’s Heart Ball events across the country. This year’s appeal focuses on what the AHA is doing to improve and protect the health of America’s children. Similar to last year, the money is restricted and gifts will be directed into specific areas of research or education for children.
Our work toward reducing death and disability from heart disease and stroke is seeing positive results and we cannot allow that trend to reverse. The children of today must not become the heart and stroke patients of tomorrow if we are to continue to make the lives of all Americans healthier.
KEY MESSAGES:
Our children are fighting for their health and their lives, sometimes even before they are born. Through research in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease and stroke, the American Heart Association is working to keep our children as healthy as they can be.
Our children’s lives are in your hands. The American Heart Association is committed to helping our children live stronger, healthier lives with education, research and public policies that effect where they live, work and play. Our children need us, and we need you!
What our children don’t know can hurt them. Children need our guidance to form their opinions and what they learn at an early age can affect their lifelong habits. Teaching our kids about the dangers of tobacco and the benefits of being physicallyactive and eating a healthy, balanced diet are lessons they deserve to learn.
Our children deserve the best we can give them. By dedicating a significant portion of our spending to research, the American Heart Association is working to uncover groundbreaking research and treatments. New information in the areas of congenital heart defects, heart transplants in children, cholesterol levels in teens and diabetes rates in children as well as adolescents are a just a few areas we are currently investigating.
SUPPORT FOR OUR CAUSE:
-Today, more than 1 million Americans live with a congenital cardiovascular defect.
-Each year about 36,000 babies are born with a heart defect.
-Nearly four times as many children die from congenital heart defects as from all forms of childhood cancers combined.
-Congenital heart defects kill more children under one year old than any other birth defect
-At least 35 types of heart defects are recognized, ranging from simple defects to complex malformations.
-More than 9.2 million children and adolescents ages 6-19 are overweight or obese.
-Today, about 16 percent of all children and teens in the United States are overweight, about 4 times as many as in 1965.
-Most overweight children have at least one major physiological risk factor (besides overweight) for cardiovascular disease, such as high cholesterol, high triglycerides, high insulin, or high blood pressure.
-Studies show that atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) can begin during childhood, and is much more likely in overweight children.
-Overweight children are more likely to have abnormally thick heart muscle tissue when they become adults; this increases the risk of heart attack and heart failure.
-Overweight adolescents have a 70 percent chance of becoming overweight or obese adults.
-According to a study presented at a 2007 conference of the Obesity Society in New Orleans:
The number of children hospitalized in the United States for obesity-related complications tripled from 1998 to 2004.
-For the first time ever, in 2002 there were more admissions for obesity than for malnutrition.
-About 60 percent of children ages 9-13 get no exercise
-American children ages 2-17 spend an average of almost 25 hours a week watching television-that’s more than any other activity except sleeping.
HOW THE AHA WORKS FOR CHILDREN:
-This year, more than 7,600 schools are participating in Hoops for Heart with 770,000 kids playing basketball.
-This year, more than 28,600 schools are participating in Jump Rope for Heart with more than 6.6 million kids jumping rope.
-Each year, the American Heart Association distributes more than 50,000 comprehensive educational kits to schools. These kits contain materials to teach students about heart health, nutrition, physical activity and the dangers of tobacco.
-Founded more than 50 years ago, the American Heart Association’s Council on Cardiovascular Disease in the Young is made up of thousands of pediatric cardiologist and researchers who write scientific statements to help the healthcare community care for children.
-The American Heart Association has invested more than $2.6 billion in research since 1949, and more than $1 billion in the past 10 years alone. Since 2003, over $41.1 million has been committed in research toward children.
-The rising trend of childhood obesity prompted the American Heart Association to partner with organizations such as Nickelodeon, the NFL and the Clinton Foundation. In 2005, the American Heart Association and the Clinton Foundation created the Alliance for a Healthier Generation to foster an environment in schools, in communities and at home that helps all kids pursue a healthier lifestyle.
-The American Heart Association supports legislation that seeks to restrict or prohibit tobacco advertising, promotion and marketing to young people and also works in partnership with the National Center for Tobacco-Free Kids on this important issue. Several states now have comprehensive clean indoor air laws, prohibiting smoking in virtually all public and private workplaces throughout the state. All schools and children's facilities that receive federal aid have been smoke-free environments since 1995.
