The American Heart Association will host the 14th annual Santa Barbara Heart Ball from 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday at Bacara Resort & Spa.
This event will celebrate the American Heart Association’s mission, philanthropists and volunteers. It will honor lives saved and improved because of the community’s efforts to stop heart disease, the No. 1 killer in Santa Barbara and in the United States.
This year’s event will launch the American Heart Association’s Healthy Futures Program in Santa Barbara County. The program aimed to empower and inspire students and their families to lead healthy lives through nutrition education will reach hundreds of students in Santa Barbara County.
As child obesity has tripled in children ages 6 to 17, it is more crucial than ever to raise awareness and bring back the health of America’s children. Currently, in Santa Barbara County, only 51.5 percent of children ages 2 to 11 and 16.9 percent of teens ages 12 to 17 ate the recommended servings of fruit and vegetables daily.
The evening will unite philanthropic leaders and honor local heart and stroke survivors in a night of elegance, which will include guest speakers and presentations that will inspire you to make a difference.
Heart disease survivor Rich Block, president and CEO of the Santa Barbara Zoo, will be among the speakers.
The event is sponsored locally by the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, Mentor Worldwide LLC, Montecito Bank & Trust, BMW Santa Barbara, Sansum Clinic and MarBorg Industries. In addition, Mentor Worldwide LLC supported the Healthy Futures program by creating a team of volunteers to lead the lessons to the students of local schools.
For more information or to purchase tickets, click here or call 805.963.8862.
— Belinda Gordillo is the director of communications and marketing for the American Heart Association.