It’s spring in the Sonoran Desert, and what better way to celebrate the season — and support heart and lung health — than fundraising walks?
Tucsonans can do both on the morning of Saturday, May 4, with the Southern Arizona Heart Walk and the Lung Force Walk Tucson.
Early risers can join the Southern Arizona Heart Walk, where the festival begins at 7:30 a.m. and the walk starts at 8:45 a.m., at Reid Park DeMeester Outdoor Performance Center, 800 S. Concert Place.
“The Heart Walk raises funds to save lives from heart disease and stroke, the nation’s number one and number five killers. This is an amazing community event that is not just held in Tucson, but in 250 communities across the nation. It brings together more than 1 million people on a mission to end heart disease,” said Sarah Spiekermeier, co-chair of the Tucson walk with Jim Stringham.
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Over the past 30 years, funds raised through the walk have pioneered healthy food policies in schools; improved technology that has saved lives from heart disease and stroke; developed science-backed guidelines to improve quality of care in hospitals; and developed improved CPR techniques.
For Spiekermeier, who is Chief Operations Officer for Banner Health Plans, including Banner University Family Care and Banner Medicare Advantages, the cause hits close to home.
“My husband, father-in-law and grandfather all have heart disease, so that is another reason I am very passionate about the walk. The advancements in technology and development of CPR techniques make it easier for someone like me who is not a nurse or medical person to help someone in an emergency situation before first responders arrive. These techniques are helping to save lives,” Spiekermeier said.
Saving lives is also top of the agenda for the Lung Force Walk Tucson, which will return in-person for the first time since 2017 at 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 4, at the University of Arizona Mall, 1303 E. University Blvd.
“We are so excited to come back to the Tucson area and get involved with community. Registration is free and we encourage people to set a fundraising goal of $100, but we want everyone to come out: The more, the merrier,” said Elizabeth Walton, Executive Director of the American Lung Association (ALA) in Arizona.
All funds raised benefit American Lung Association programs, advocacy and research, including local research by Amanda Wilson, Ph.D. at the UArizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health. Wilson received an ALA 2023 Catalyst Award of $50,000 toward her research in “Protecting Asthmatic Children’s Health by Reducing Respiratory Viral Infections in Schools.”
While lung health was at the forefront during the COVID pandemic, Walton said the ALA hopes to keep it there.
“Our goal is to increase conversations around lung health, and this walk provides so many opportunities to engage in great conversation with vendors from hospitals, the medical industry and others, as well as opportunities to learn about the American Lung Association’s plethora of programs including smoking cessation for teens and adults. If people are struggling with vaping or smoking, they can come to us to get help,” Walton said.
