Changing Policies and Changing Lives: Look What YOU Have Done!

We couldn't have done it without you! Over the past year, YOU have been instrumental in the huge strides we've made to improve heart-health in our communities.

Thanks to you, nearly 70,000 online messages and over 2,700 petition signatures were sent to lawmakers, 4.600 phone calls were made and nearly 1,000 face to face meetings were held in support of healthier policies. Because of your efforts:

• The city of Cleveland joined a growing number of cities working to prevent our kids from beginning to smoke by increasing the age to purchase tobacco to 21. In addition, West Virginia increased it's cigarette excise tax--a proven method to prevent youth from beginning to smoke and encourage adults to quit.
• Kentucky and Ohio passed policies to ensure all students learn CPR before graduation. There are now 34 states that have CPR in Schools policies in place, which means over 2 million kids will learn this lifesaving skill each year.
• Philadelphia worked to improve access to healthier vending foods and also passed a tax on sugary beverages to reduce consumption. The revenue will fund quality Pre-K and improve parks and recreation facilities, increasing opportunities for physical activity in communities.
• West Virginia passed Senate Bill 401, which will improve care for stroke victims in the Mountain State.

Check out this great graphic and stay tuned for more heart-health success in 2016-2017!