I talk about my daughter a lot and I talk about the things I do with her and the things she says, but rarely do I get an opportunity to demonstrate so amply the type of person she is becoming. Let me preface this by saying the two schools she’s been in have done fund raisers before. Usually the fund raisers were about raising funds for the school or playground equipment and involved selling some product or other. She never evinced much interest in either of these attempts.
A Change in Her Attitude
She came home from school two days ago, all flushed and excited. Her P.E. class and by extension, the whole school, was participating in Hoops for Hearts. When I asked her what that was, she threw herself down in a chair and beamed from ear to ear. It was how they were going to help people’s hearts. The Hoops for Hearts program is an educational event that teaches kids about the benefits of exercise, different basketball skills and making heart healthy choices.
As a part of this event, the kids are going to raise money in the form of donations to help the American Heart Association in their research, their awareness campaigns, their CPR training and even technological advances for cardiologists and much, much more. So did my 6 year old enthuse about all of this? Yes – yes she did.
She’s been very concerned about heart health over the last few months, mine, her father’s and everyone else’s. She’s one of my biggest supporters for the quit smoking date that is rapidly approaching. She wants my heart to be healthier too.
She Wants to Raise Money
The event will be held at her school from February 7th through February 9th. As part of the event, she is asking for donations to raise money and she’s set her goal at $150. It’s an ambitious goal, but she’s determined and part of that determination included the development of a website following the instructions on her donation sheet. She watched as I set it up and asked a dozen different questions so she could understand it. Then she made a list of names that she could call – and got on the phone herself to talk to aunts, uncles and grandparents about supporting her in hoops for hearts.
One person dies from heart disease once every 33 seconds, since I started typing this blog, 7 people have died from heart disease. Heart disease is still the number one killer in our country. As part of her fund raising, we’re asking for donations to her Hoops for Hearts campaign or any donation that you would like to make on her behalf to the American Heart Association. The website that she created only accepts donations of $25 or more. If you want to send in your donation privately, you can contribute directly through the AHA site or via their snail mail address.
According to their statistics, the dollars are used in the following way:
- 23.4% towards research
- 35.6% towards public health education
- 11.9% towards professional education
- 7.3% towards community service
- 14.6% towards fund raising
- 7.2% towards management & general costs
That means nearly 74% of every dollar donated goes towards the cause you are donating it for. Talk to your children about heart health and what you can do to improve your heart fitness. I’m very proud of my daughter’s efforts and her enthusiasm on this subject. Help me support her in her goal for Hoops for Hearts! Have a great day!
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