Southern Tier community raises $220,000 to fight heart disease and stroke

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Thousands of people from across the Southern Tier came together Sunday at the 2015 Southern Tier Heart Walk to fight our nation’s No. 1 and No. 5 killers: heart disease and stroke.

The event drew a crowd of more than 2,500 fundraising walkers that lined the campus at the Heart Walk’s new location of SUNY Broome.  Pre-event activities were held inside and around the Ice Center, including blood pressure screenings, healthy demonstrations, and live entertainment.

Participants helped raise $220,000 at the 2015 Southern Tier Heart Walk.  Heartfelt thanks and congratulations go to all of the sponsors, teams and individuals that helped the American Heart Association work toward its mission of building healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke. Money raised at the event goes towards lifesaving research, education, training, and advocacy programs.

The signature sponsor of this year’s walk is GHS Federal Credit Union. Howie Meller, president and CEO of GHS Federal Credit Union served as the volunteer chair of this year’s event. Meller says, “GHS Federal Credit Union is proud to be the signature sponsor of the Heart Walk in the Southern Tier.  We take pride in our commitment to the community through great events like this one.”

Other major local sponsors include Cardiology Associates, DoubleTree by Hilton Binghamton, eni, Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, Guthrie, Horizons Federal Credit Union, On Point Productions, and Visions Federal Credit Union. Media sponsors are Fox 40 WICZ, Magic 101.7, News Radio 1290 WNBF, and the Press & Sun Bulletin.

The Heart Walk is sponsored nationally by SUBWAY® Restaurants. Local franchisees generously donated more than 1,500 sandwiches for the event.

If you were not able to participate in today’s event but would still like to support the American Heart Association, you can donate at www.SouthernTierHeartWalk.org.

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