The American Heart Association hosted its 100th annual Heart Walk at Government Plaza on Saturday.
The walk was held from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. and was sponsored by DCH Health System, Harrison Construction and Nucor Steel Tuscaloosa.
The route for this year wound through downtown Tuscaloosa, stretching nearly 5 kilometers.
The Heart Walk is dedicated to raising awareness for heart disease and to gathering donations that will support research, CPR training and medical breakthroughs.
The event raised $204,022 out of its $350,000 goal. Alpha Phi sorority was the highest donor, with $27,785 raised. Following Alpha Phi were DCH with $24,231 raised and SE Community Teams with $11,596 raised.
“This event to me is huge,” said Eddie Sherwood, the director of the walk. “We had great leaders, terrific people to work with. I had a team that were very helpful in helping us achieve the goal.”
Sherwood said the Heart Walk is there to make people aware that heart disease can harm anyone.
“The biggest thing is to put the awareness out there. What people don’t understand about heart disease is that it’s not just an old man disease,” Sherwood said. “For women, the numbers are going up, for men, the numbers are staying consistent, but what’s really going up is our youth.”
This year the weather did not allow for a clear day for walking, and the event saw fewer people than in previous years. However, more than 200 people attended and participated, including several tents set up with sponsors.
“It’s dear to our hearts. We take heart health very seriously,” said Joy Gilliam, the department clerk at Nucor Steel. “We want to do anything we can do to get more help and get information out.”
Nucor Steel sponsors the event every year and takes the initiative to do similar events within its business as well, Gilliam said.
“It’s a fun event,” said Tahnya Bell, a resident nurse at DCH. “There’s always lots going on, and they do it to save lives.”
