Every day, Americans’ lives are touched by heart disease and stroke. Whether it’s our own health that is impacted or the health of family members, friends or co-workers, there is a lot at stake when it comes to fighting our nation’s No. 1 and No. 5 killers.
We all have the power to make a difference by speaking out for policies that help build healthier communities and lives. The moving force behind policy change for the American Heart Association are You’re the Cure advocates. Advocates bring heart and stroke statistics to life by sharing their personal stories with lawmakers.
Typically, You’re the Cure advocates join at the Massachusetts State House each spring to speak to lawmakers in person. This year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are providing you with several ways to advocate remotely.
Through emails, phone calls, letters to the editor and social media, you can directly influence policy and improve the quality of life for all Massachusetts residents.
Starting this week, we are asking you to focus your efforts one of our key issues – reducing the consumption of sugary drinks, which are a leading cause of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. We aim to do this by passing legislation that would tax drinks based on the amount of sugar they contain.
Click here to download our sugary drinks toolkit.
Our sugary drinks toolkit will help you build an advocacy campaign to ensure all kids and families have access to healthy, affordable drinks. Together, with our policy leaders, we can stop sugary drinks from hooking our kids.
Here’s a special message from state Sen. Jason M. Lewis and Rep. Kay Khan thanking you for your work on this issue.