YONKERS, NY (June 13, 2012) Allison’s Heart Foundation for Children & Young Adults (AHF), an organization that promotes good heart health in children, teens and young adults, sponsored a presentation of “Alli’s Heart Lesson” to children at Yonkers Paideia School 15 on June 11th. Nearly 30 children in 1st through 3rd grade participated in the interactive session, administered through Westchester Children’s Museum (WCM) and JCY-Westchester Community Partners, to learn about the basic concepts of heart anatomy, exercise and nutrition.
To start the lesson, WCM educators Barbara Marchewka and Terry Butler read Alli’s Healthy Heart, which talks about the fundamentals of heart health, and then led the children through several activities and learning stations where they listened to the beat of a model heart, designed a wholesome dinner plate and enjoyed a healthy snack, listened to their own heart rates using a real stethoscope, and got stamps in their “passport to a healthy heart” along the way.
Earlier this year, Allison’s Heart Foundation awarded the Westchester Children’s Museum a $3,500 grant to develop the “Alli’s Heart Lesson” program. Based on AHF’s book, “Alli’s Healthy Heart,” written by Adele R. Fuchsberg, and developed as part of WCM’s Museum Without Walls outreach efforts, Alli’s Heart Lesson is a hands-on, interactive program administered through JCY-Westchester Community Partners’ SMART Program at schools in Yonkers and Mt. Vernon.
“I want to thank Westchester Children’s Museum for their innovation in bringing such valuable heart health awareness to children,” said Allison’s Heart Foundation President and Founder Sandra Wilkin Frowley. “It’s wonderful to see so many children at this school learn about good heart health in a fun and active way. While ‘walking to the beat’ on a map of the heart on the floor, I heard one child exclaim it was ‘blood going through the heart like a conga line!’”
Frowley continued: “We’re honored to have our book, Alli’s Healthy Heart, as the centerpiece of this program, and we hope to see it continue and grow to be in every school in Westchester. There’s nothing more important than teaching children about their health, and the health of their heart.”
“This program reaches out to children who otherwise might not have an opportunity like this, and supplements what they learn in the classroom,” explains WCM’s Museum Without Walls Program Coordinator Bev McAllister. “With the nationwide focus on hearth health and nutrition, this was the perfect time for Allison’s Heart Foundation to step up.”
Allison’s Heart Foundation was founded in memory of Allison Frowley, an energetic, courageous and loving young woman who died suddenly at the age of 22 from Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD), a pre-existing heart condition that was undiagnosed. Alli’s Healthy Heart Lesson will continue in schools throughout Westchester in 2012 as part of AHF’s mission to promote good heart health in children, teens, and young adults, raise awareness of potential heart health issues, and encourage practices that foster early detection of problems.
“It’s the extraordinary partnership with Westchester Children’s Museum and JCY-Westchester Community Partners that makes it possible for these children to understand good heart health,” added Allison’s Heart Foundation Vice President Brenda Wilkin.
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About Allison’s Heart Foundation for Children & Young Adults
Allison’s Heart Foundation for Children & Young Adults (AHF) is dedicated to promoting good heart health in children, teens and young adults. Our goal is to raise awareness of potential heart health issues and encourage parents and children to make proper inquiry of doctors, other medical professionals and teachers in order to foster early detection of any potential heart health problems – and in doing so, save lives. AHF initiates and sponsors awareness programs throughout New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania for parents, children, educators and the medical community. To learn more or make a donation, call 646.895.0626, email info@allisonsheartfoundation.org or visit www.allisonsheartfoundation.org
