16 Years. $300,000. And We're Still Walking.
Some commitments you make once — and keep forever.
Sixteen years ago, our family laced up our shoes and joined the American Heart Association Heart Walk for the first time. We've shown up every year since — as Team Arterial Motives.
In that time, our team has raised over $300,000. I've personally raised just over $20,000. And we are not done.
We walk because heart disease isn't abstract to us. It has names. It has faces.
We've lost a father, grandfather, uncle, aunt, cousin - family and friends who left too soon. And we family living with heart disease right now — managing it, fighting it, showing up every single day.
Then there's my dad — Cassie's grandpa — who received a heart transplant on February 8, 2017, thanks to a selfless donor, a medical miracle called Heart in a Box, and years of research funded by the AHA. Because of that gift, we got more time. More memories. More moments that matter.
That's what $300,000 looks like. It looks like memories. It looks like 3 little girls who still have their grandpa.
This year, I've made a commitment as an Executive with Heart to raise $5,000. Every dollar stays right here in the Capital Region — funding local researchers, hospitals, labs, and the programs that give families more time together.
If our story means anything to you, I'm asking you to walk with us — even if just from your keyboard.
Donate here: http://www2.heart.org/goto/joandcass
Register to be an organ donor: https://www.registerme.org/
For the ones we've lost. For the ones still fighting. For every moment that matters.
Be the good.
With all my heart,
Joanna
#HeartWalk #WhyIWalk #DonateLife #CassiesGrandpa #ExecutiveWithHeart