Stater Bros. Charities is teaming up once again with The American Heart and American Stroke Association (AHA) for the 12th year of the “Have a Heart, Save a Heart” campaign to raise awareness and funds to fight heart disease and stroke, America’s No. 1 and No. 4 killers, respectively. Last year’s Stater Bros. “Have a Heart, Save a Heart” campaign raised $363,523 by selling $1 and $5 hearts at registers in Stater Bros. Supermarkets throughout Southern California, and the campaign has raised more than $3.4 million for the fight against heart disease and stroke since it launched at Stater Bros. in 2002.
“Heart disease and stroke affect a great number of people in the communities we serve,” said Jack H. Brown, chairman and CEO of Stater Bros. “We are proud to celebrate the 12th year of our partnership with the American Heart and American Stroke Association and look forward to many more years of saving lives.”
“We are grateful to Stater Bros. for their continued commitment to saving lives,” said Agnes Mcglone-Swanson (AHA spokesperson). “Through this campaign, we are raising critical funds needed to find better ways to prevent and treat heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases. We are also reaching thousands of customers every year with lifesaving information and empowering them to take positive steps for their health.”
This year’s campaign, which runs through Feb. 20, will feature local heart disease and stroke survivors whose inspiring stories will be on display at Stater Bros. Supermarkets and will be featured online at www.staterbroshasheart.org where customers also can make donations and learn more about taking care of their hearts through the American Heart and American Stroke Association’s Nutrition Center.
The survivors who customers will get to know include:
• Anabelle Provisor, from Los Angeles County, who was born with a heart defect that caused a shortage of oxygen in blood flowing from her heart to the rest of her body. Fortunately, when Anabelle was born in 2007, advances in cardiovascular research made it possible for her doctors to not only diagnose the heart defect, but also correct it.
• Hudson Thatcher, from Orange County, who was born with a defective heart valve and was only 2 months old when he had open-heart surgery to correct the problem. He will need another valve replacement surgery in the future, but for now the 1-year-old baby from Ladera Ranch is thriving and making new discoveries every day.
• Jessica Mariah Ocampo, from Riverside County, who in February 2002, when she was only 10 years old, had a massive stroke. She would not be around today if not for an experimental treatment that ultimately saved her life.
• Steve Irigoyen, from San Bernardino County, who suffered his first heart attack at age 39 in 2002. Since then he’s had six more heart attacks, a stroke, two open-heart bypass surgeries and 15 stents placed in his arteries that saved his life.
• Vicki Powell, from San Diego County, who had a near-fatal brain stem stroke four years ago. Her doctor knew to quickly CT scan her head and, when it was determined that her stroke was caused by a clot, she received the drug TPA, which saved her life.
• Sacha Lincoln, from Kern County, who was only 39 days old when she went into cardiac arrest. At age 26, she has learned she had high blood pressure. The active young lady has made efforts to reduce her sodium intake and lead a healthy lifestyle.
