COMSTOCK PARK, Mich. — More than 60 million women in the U.S. are living with some form of heart disease.
Today is ‘Go Red for Women Day’ and the American Heart Association of West Michigan visited Stoney Creek Elementary School to teach children about the importance of having and maintaining a healthy, strong heart.
“I would say go to bed earlier because it would be good because you wouldn’t fall asleep in class,” a student, Blakely, said.
Blakely was inspired to get more sleep after learning about its benefits from the American Heart Association's presentation.
Ian Hamilton, the school's physical education teacher, said educating children about heart health should always start at a young age so they’ll grow up and develop good habits to keep a healthy heart.
“They're moving so much at this age and for them to be able to learn why physical activity is helping their heart gets stronger is super important for their age,” Hamilton said.
Students wore hats celebrating their 100th day of school bearing the number one hundred, but the American Heart Association is celebrating an even bigger milestone — one hundred years of promoting and raising awareness for heart health across the globe.
American Heart Association Youth Market Director Julie Neuhaus made her first stop at Stoney Creek Elementary.
“We want to make sure also that our kids know how to take care of their heart and we want the young children to be able to focus on things they can do every day that is good for them,” Neuhaus said. "It’s also important they have great character traits like leadership and being kind to others.”
The school is doing a lot this year to raise awareness about heart health and get their students excited about learning.
“We’re raising money for people to be better with their hearts,” Blakely said.
The school’s "Kids Heart Challenge" fundraiser hopes to raise $8,000 by the end of the school year.
"We talked about the reasons why we're doing this fundraiser and how there are some people and kids out there who don't have healthy hearts like them and it's really a privilege to be able to move the way they do and allow their heart to raise how it's supposed to,” Hamilton said.
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Watch 13 ON YOUR SIDE for free on Roku, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Apple TV and on your phone.