On Saturday, September 7, approximately 18,000 people gathered in our very own University of Central Florida Memory Mall. Everyone arrived with a common goal in mind: to help win the fight against heart disease and stroke.

The American Heart Association’s Heart Walk was held on the UCF campus for the first time in history. All attendees of the walk arrived bright and early. For walkers it was apparent that their wish to press snooze on their alarm clock was not as great as their will to help support a great cause.

Organizers of the American Heart Association walk set their goal at $1.5 million. This seemingly big goal turned out to be a possibility when at 2 p.m. on Friday, September 6, $1,122,174 had been raised.

The official count after the event was $1,178,952. Although the walk fell short of the $1.5 million goal, it was still a big success! There are high hopes that this will become an annual tradition on campus.

To find out more information about the American Heart Association, to donate or to see where other heart walks our happening, please visit their website at www.heart.org.