Teen of Impact
Increasing Heart Health Awareness
As an organization that has its roots in education, First Source is proud to support the American Heart Association’s ‘Teen of Impact’ campaign which helps increase health education and awareness within our community. With 1 in every 3 women affected by heart disease, it's clear that there is a great need for an increase in funding for research as well as personal education. Through our involvement with this campaign we hope to create awareness in our community, help bring funds to our local AHA chapter, and let people know about the resources that are available to them.
Teen of Impact is an 8-week campaign in which teens have the opportunity to learn leadership skills and expand their heart health knowledge. In this inaugural year of the campaign, local teens were nominated as the leader of their own Impact Team, made up of their family and friends. The goal is to raise funds for the American Heart Association as well as increase community awareness and education. The team leaders will compete for impact points, which they can accumulate by raising funds, educating others, and spreading awareness. The winner of this competition will be announced on June 16th, 2021.
Since 1924, the American Heart Association has been funding research and increasing education and awareness of heart health. In 2004, the AHA realized that something more needed to be done to educate people on heart disease and stroke in women. They decided to start their Go Red for Women campaign, which has since spread to over 50 countries. Here locally, the AHA hosts an annual Go Red Luncheon in order to raise funds and spread awareness. It is important to the AHA to involve the younger generations as well so that they can carry on this fight and start making healthier choices while they are young.
Meet our Teens!
Sarah Cubbage
Senior - Thomas R. Proctor High School
Sarah says she’s excited to be a nominee and feels that this is a great opportunity to make a real difference in the community and spread awareness for a good cause. She says that she feels her drive will help her be successful in this competition. A fun fact about Sarah is that she has been studying American Sign Language.
Throughout this 8 week program, Sarah will be dedicating time to teaching Hands-Only CPR® to members of the community, inclu
ding her friends and family. It is important that more people are trained in CPR in the case of an emergency. This kind of training, in many cases, can be life-saving.
CPR keeps the heart pumping when it is unable to beat on its own. Hands-Only CPR has been shown to be as effective as conventional CPR for cardiac arrest. Bystander CPR can increase the chances of survival by two to three times. For information on how to perform Hands-Only CPR follow the link below:
https://cpr.heart.org/en/cpr-courses-and-kits/hands-only-cpr
To donate to Sarah’s Team follow the link below:
Mohawk Valley Teen of Impact : Miss Sarah Cubbage - American Heart Association
Andrea Pajazetovic
Senior - Thomas R. Proctor High School
Andrea says she is glad to be a nominee because she knows it will be a challenge, but she is excited to see the outcome since it is for a great cause. She is excited to spread awareness about cardiovascular disease in her community with her team. Andrea believes her team will be successful in this competition because they have great ideas and work well together. A fun fact about Andrea is that she has been dancing in a preprofessional dance division si
nce the age of two.
Andrea will be advocating for better nutrition for children. Healthy living does not start at adulthood. When children have access to healthy foods it can set them on a path toward healthful choices as an adult and contribute positively to their overall health and wellbeing.
Nearly 1 in 3 children in the United States is overweight, which is almost triple what it was 60 years ago! Being overweight as a child can lead to health issues even as an adult. Providing children with healthy food can have a significant impact on their current and future health.
To donate to Andrea’s Team follow the link below:
Mohawk Valley Teen of Impact : Andrea Pajazetovic - American Heart Association
Abigail Streeter
Senior - Central Valley Academy
Abigail is excited to be a nominee as she sees it as a good opportunity to bring light to the effects of cardiovascular diseases in our community and a good platform to promote prevention of these diseases. Abigail is excited to work with her team to meet their goals. A fun fact about her is that she has played softball since middle school and plans to play in college as well.
Abigail will share what she’s learned through a Healthy Behavior Journey. The Healthy Behavior Jou
rney is meant to foster healthier habits even after the end of the journey. These kinds of changes promote better heart health and even overall health, not only now but later in life as well.
The Healthy Behavior Journey is a 28-day program that focuses on increasing your daily activity, eating more heart healthy foods, and managing your blood pressure. These changes can help you to improve your heart health and have more energy.
If you are interested in starting your healthy behavior journey, follow the link below:
https://www.goredforwomen.org/en/know-your-risk/journey-to-better-health
To donate to Abigail’s Team follow the link below:
Mohawk Valley Teen of Impact : Abigail Streeter - American Heart Association
How You Can Help
All First Source branches and drive-thrus are selling paper hearts for $1 each. This money will go toward the cause.
If you would like to participate in this year’s virtual luncheon you can send an email to tionna.defreitas@heart.org to request more information.
For more information on heart health visit: Mohawk Valley Goes Red website