The American Heart Association is gearing up for its Oct. 26 Walk at Marlins Park. On Sept. 10, a kickoff breakfast at Marlins Park celebrated team leaders and sponsors of this year’s event who are excited about the new location offering great parking for the more than 5,000 participants expected to attend and support this annual fundraising event.
During the month leading up to the Walk, many also are participating in the American Heart Association’s 10th anniversary of Go Red for Women Luncheon scheduled for Sept. 27, 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., at the Westin Beach Resort & Spa, 321 N. Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd., in Fort Lauderdale.
Gabrielle Finley-Hazle, CEO of Florida Medical Center and 2013 Go Red for Women chair, expects a sellout crowd to attend this affair presented by GCI Worldwide Corporation, Macy’s and Tenet Florida. Guests are encouraged to wear red and will be offered health screenings courtesy of Walgreens. To RSVP or for more information, call Maria Leon at 1-954- 492- 6912.
Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos (NPH USA), formerly known as Friends of the Orphans, held an event at Pinecrest home of board member Tomas Hauf on Aug. 27. This amazing organization is building awareness in South Florida after having impacted the lives of many thousands of children whom they have raised in their nine homes throughout the Americas and Caribbean.
Nivet, 2013 Miami-Dade Heart Walk chair, and Canning Thorton.
The event highlighted the Haitian orphanage and featured the photography of award-winning Haitian-born photojournalist Carl Philippe Juste, whose politically active family was forced to flee its homeland in 1965. Settling in Miami, Carl has served the Haitian community since 1991 through his work at the Miami Herald capturing the struggles of Haitians in the United States, the Caribbean and Latin America. Viter Juste, Carl’s father, who recently passed away at age 87, was the founder and creator of Miami’s Little Haiti neighborhood.
NPH has a history in Haiti alone dating back to more than 25 years. They have two main homes — the St. Hélène Foyer children’s home in Kencoff, the Saint Germain home for special needs children in Châteaublond as well as the St. Damien Châteaublond Pedriatric Hospital. That hospital now is the country’s largest pediatric clinic. Not only does NPH run those facilities but they also provide free meals and schooling to many children in the local community.
During the catastrophic earthquake of 2010 NPH Haiti suffered the tragic loss of several staff members, volunteers and family members as well as substantial damage to its facilities. Despite these losses, the organization assisted more than one million people suffering injuries or left homeless from the earthquake.
For more information on how to support NPH’s efforts in Haiti and beyond, contact Leah Stern, Southeast Regional director, at 305-909-6810 or by email at Lstern@nphusa.org If you have not already signed up for the Nov. 3 Great Grove Bed Race, make plans now. This year’s race promises to be bigger and better than ever with lots of activities to complement a great afternoon of fun and laughs. This is a great opportunity for branding your business and that many find beneficial in building espris de corps. For more information, call Barbar at 305-766-3536 or Daisy Lewis at 786-399- 9669 of go online to www.thegreatbedrace.com.
Until next time, keep making each day count.
If you want to submit information for this column, please send your news via email to gloriagalburns@aol.com
