February is national heart month. You might be hearing about it for the first time now but it’s actually been celebrated across North America for a number of years and its popularity is increasing as more and more people and organizations are becoming concerned with the health of their employees. Heart disease is a serious matter however with education and a few fun fund-raising ideas you can make it an important and valuable tradition for the office and your family and friends.
Ideas for National Heart Month
Corporate responsibility means that a company is responsible to the environment in which it operates but it also means that it’s responsible to its employees. This is why holding one or more corporate events to recognize the importance of the health of employees and to show support for national heart month is a great opportunity that shouldn’t be missed. Here are a few events that you can organize easily during National Heart Month.
Lunch and Learn – Here’s a great idea, organize a heart healthy lunch and learn that will educate people on what they are eating and give them ideas for what they can prepare at home to stay heart healthy. Incorporate a presentation about the risks of heart attack and information on prevention. You can also invite a heart attack survivor to tell his or her story. Make sure to choose someone who your audience will be able to relate to. If most of your company consists of young females, invite a young female to speak. Here are a few survivor stories to give you a better understanding of what you can expect to hear. Speak to your HR department to see if anyone in the company is a heart health activist and is willing to speak. Tip: speak to the survivor and listen to their story before the event to make sure that it’s appropriate for your work environment.
Wear Red Day- February 3rd marks wear red day, a flagship day for national heart month. This is a great and easy initiative to organize at work. Get everyone to wear red on this day, ask everyone to take lots of pictures because you can upload them to the the Go Red facebook page and win some cool prizes. You don’t have to hold your Wear Red Day on Feb 3rd, it can take place during the month of February on any other day. You can also visit American Heart Association’s (AHA) website for other Wear Red event listings.
Go Red for Women - this is an opportunity focused on women’s health and awareness, there are lots of events taking place around the US as part of the Go Red for Women movement which you can take part in as an individual or an organization. Here’s all the info you need on Go Red for Women 2012.
Corporate CPR training – arrange a CPR workshop for the entire company, or for those 
who want to participate, group sessions like this are a lot of fun especially if you bring in passionate volunteers who facilitate the training with enthusiasm. Click here for more info about CPR training. You can also hold a CPR session in a public space during lunch hour and encourage participation from onlookers and get great positive exposure for your company and set a great example for other companies.
National heart month events are taking place all over the country throughout February, all you have to do is a little bit of research or even contact your local AHA office to find out what events are taking place near you and get your company, family and friends on board. Have a healthy and active national heart month.
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