Brooklyn, N.Y. - Long Island University student-athletes and coaches were among a large contingent of university members who participated in the first Brooklyn Start! Heart Walk on Sunday, Oct. 11. The walk was sponsored by the American Heart Association and was staged as a celebration of life and an opportunity to remember those who have been lost to cardiovascular disease and stroke. The walk is designed to raise awareness among the diverse neighborhoods of Brooklyn to prevent heart disease and stroke through community building and fundraising.

Approximately 150 LIU volunteers took part in the walk, including nearly 60 student-athletes and the cheer team, to help combat heart disease and strokes. LIU raised over $5,000 and was represented by the largest single donor to the AHA, La'Shaina Dickerson of the school of business. 



Provost Gale Stevens Haynes played an integral role in partnering the Brooklyn campus with the American Heart Association for the walk and gathering a large amount of support from the LIU community. The event was covered by CBS and was attended by borough president Marty Markowitz. Members of the LIU community wore "One Good Deed" t-shirts as a special tribute to the late dean Bernadette Walker.

Since 1924 the American Heart Association has helped protect people of all ages and ethnicities from the ravages of heart disease and stroke. These diseases, the Nation's No.1 and No.3 killers, claim more than 910,000 American lives a year. The association invested more than $543 million in fiscal year 2005-06 for research, professional and public education, and advocacy so people across America can live stronger, longer lives.



For more information go to www.brooklynheartwalk.org.