While researching my Agent of Change, I found many organizations that are looking reaching for the same goal as me, one of them was the, Association of Black Cardiologist. Their goal is, “that all people regardless of race, ethnicity or gender should benefit equally from reduction in the frequency, duration and impact of diseases of the heart and blood vessels.” Another organization that I had found while researching was Go Red For Women. This organization was made in 2004, when 500,000 American women’s lives were taken because of cardiovascular disease, and most women at the time weren’t treating it as big of a deal as it was. So they made the organization as a way of raising awareness for the issue, and to try and band all women together so that they would be able to finally wipe out heart disease. My final organization that I found was the American Heart Association. This organization is the one that I got my idea for my Agent of Change, and the one who I ultimately donated all the money from my fundraiser to. The American Heart Association is the nation's oldest organization dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke, founded in 1924, by six cardiologists, the organization now contains about 22.5 million volunteers and supporters. Their goal is to “build healthier lives free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke.” I feel that these organizations are all important and will one day finally end cardiovascular disease and stroke. They inform people about heart disease and have fundraisers like I chose to do, and I got really inspired from the work that they do.
The logo of the American Heart Association
After collecting all the information and gathering interviews for my You and The World, I began to devise a plan for my Agent of Change. I had searched online for ways to make donations for my cause. That’s when I had found the American Heart Association, this organization had inspired me because they hold fundraising events to raise awareness and funding for cardiovascular disease prevention. Now it was only a problem of trying to raise money to donate to the cause. I had went and decided that I would sell water ice, because the weather was starting to warm up, and in Philadelphia everybody likes to get water ice to eat for the hot summer day. My goal was to make at least $20, because, I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to make a lot of money, because Rita’s only had a limited stock and I wasn’t able to get as much water ice as I needed. I had talked to Mrs.Giknis and she said that if I wanted to start a fundraiser, I should talk to Ms.Sessa, because, she would be able to let me sell water ice at the front office. I had bought all the water ice on Sunday, then stored it in my freezer, to be sold on Monday. Once, I had sold all my water ice, I had only made a mere $33, to me this was a success, it was more money than I had expected to make. It wasn’t anything major, but it will help those who are not in the same level of health as me. I finally, mailed all the money to American Heart Association in Philadelphia.
My classmates helping me out with the fundraiser that was held on Monday, May 14th.
At first, I didn’t feel like I was going to be able to make a change for my issue. I felt that me only being a highschool student and not someone like a cardiologist, I couldn’t have made a difference or made a way to help with the issue, but the more I kept working on my project and my agent of change, I had seen that maybe I couldn’t do anything really significant right now, but these donations can actually make a change. I learned that I had good people that looked out for me at SLA and really wanted me to succeed. I was initially going to do the entire fundraiser by myself, but as soon as I had started my classmates such as Randy, Sophia, Jasir, Chris, Isabella, Carol, etc. reached out to me and helped me out with serving the water ice and with handling change, trying to get people to come and buy some water ice, and setting up my fundraiser. I feel as though I could have bought some more water ice and managed my time better. I wasn’t able to get enough water ice, because, I had decided to go and buy some on Saturday, and most of the mango water ice was sold out, and my parents had to work and didn’t have enough time to search for more places that would’ve sold water ice. Next time around, I would get started right away with my Agent of Change, and not wait until last minute. Heart disease has many factors such as genetics, foods that are consumed, physical activity, etc. Myself and others could slow down or even end the amount of deaths that are caused by Heart Disease. If we as people tried to limit the amount of sugary and fatty foods that we consume, we could slow down the progression of heart disease, and even donate to organizations that are trying to find cures and solutions to these problems.
My other classmate and close friend, Randy, serving water ice.
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