EMPOWERED to Serve Business Accelerator

EMPOWERED to Serve Business Accelerator

Blog written by Monique Wilson, Vice President for Community Impact, Diversity & Inclusion for the American Heart Association.

Got a business idea for improving your community’s health?

Imagine using an app to help you recover after a hospital stay. Or one that shows you how to save food destined for a landfill.

Every day, clever people are creating innovative solutions to tackle society’s problems. The American Heart Association wants to encourage even more of these bright ideas, especially the ones that can help overcome health obstacles.

About 50 million people in the U.S. face a higher risk for heart disease and stroke, the world’s top killers, because they lack the most basic needs — healthy food, clean air and drinking water, quality education, employment and housing.

Factors such as ZIP code, income and education level affect their quality and length of life. It’s a cruel reality that people living just a few miles apart may have dramatically different life expectancies due to health inequities.

The American Heart Association is determined to do something about these unfair and often avoidable differences in health status. They’re challenging, but they’re not impossible to overcome.

This is where you come in. From May 1 through June 28, we’re seeking people in communities across the country whose business ideas are helping solve problems in their region.

Entrepreneurs will be selected to participate in a fast-paced, eight-week, MBA-style crash course with an emphasis on marketing, brand development and fundraising. They will then go on to present their ideas and business models to a panel of judges this fall, with an opportunity to receive monetary grants to propel their business solutions.

Ready to submit your big idea? Visit empoweredtoserve.org/accelerator.

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Blog written by Monique Wilson, Vice President for Community Impact, Diversity & Inclusion for the American Heart Association.