Partner Profile: American Heart Association
Location: Columbia, SC
Mission: Building healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke. By 2020, the American Heart Association plans to improve the cardiovascular health of all Americans by 20 percent while reducing deaths from cardiovascular disease and stroke by 20 percent.
In 1999, the American Heart Association set a bold 10-year goal: To reduce coronary heart disease, stroke and risk by 25 percent by 2010. The reduction in deaths was achieved ahead of schedule and substantial progress was made against three of the six risk factors. The 2020 Impact Goal focuses on helping people build stronger health and a better quality of life.
The AHA works to make an extraordinary impact through a wide range of lifesaving activities. Here’s how:
- Improving patient care
- Advocating for better health
- Reaching out to populations at risk
- Raising awareness
- Protecting the future
- Educating Americans
How Colonial Life supports the American Heart Association: The mission at Colonial Life is to help America’s workers preserve and protect the vitally important things they work so hard to build. A key component involves promoting an active and healthy lifestyle. Each year Colonial Life has a corporate team participate in the Midlands Heart Walk, but this year we were committed to even more. Tim Arnold, Colonial Life’s CEO and President, served on the executive leadership team. And Colonial Life served as a sponsor, contributing $10,000 to the American Heart Association.
A Colonial Life team of 97 walkers and runners participated in the 2016 Midlands Heart Walk in mid-March. With Colonial Life support and participant fundraising and giving, an additional $7,600 was raised for the American Heart Association.
Why? “Life is why! The American Heart Association is the largest voluntary health organization dedicated to defeating heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases,” said Brooke Livingston, a contract and compensation analyst at Colonial Life. “Their mission is to build healthier lives, free of cardiovascular disease and stroke—the nation’s No. 1 and No. 5 killers.”
“There is a strong history of stroke in my paternal family and one of my uncles passed away due to a heart attack,” said Tim Arnold, Colonial Life president and CEO. “The state of SC also has very high rates of stroke and heart disease. That’s just a couple of the reasons I’m passionate about heart and circulatory health.”
