We need your help: Calling all stories

Our volunteers are our eyes and ears in the community. Help the AHA by identifying your friends, coworkers, neighbors, family members, or community members who may have a story to share related to heart disease and stroke.

It’s important for our legislators to hear stories from or about real Texans who would benefit from local smoke-free ordinances, increased access to healthy food, and more! These stories highlight the need for policy changes that make a real difference in the health of individuals and communities across our state. 

Please consider if you or anyone you know can help with the following:

Smoke-Free Efforts

Share positive stories: Email Samantha Bender at [email protected] with any good stories of people who have been impacted by exposure to secondhand smoke at their workplace, benefits to businesses that went smoke-free, or any other positive stories related to a community passing a comprehensive smoke-free ordinance.

Recruit more You’re the Cure advocates: Let us know about good local opportunities to table at events to collect smoke-free petition cards and grow our community of You’re the Cure advocates. It is always helpful if you can help support the effort by attending the event and tabling with us as well.  Contact Samantha Bender at [email protected] with any opportunities.

Obesity Prevention Campaigns

Food Access Stories Needed: We need your help in identifying community members you may live, work, play or pray with who may have a story to share about difficulty accessing healthy food. Perhaps they live in an urban or rural “food desert” and can speak to their challenges finding affordable and healthy food in their neighborhood. Perhaps their community just lost a store where they had been able to purchase those foods previously, or they might even be a business owner who had to close their store due to lack of financing. Disinvested and/or minority communities often face limited access to healthy food.

Our goal is to collect these experiences in writing or through video so we can share the real story of food access in Texas – and if anyone would like to come advocate with us in person, they would be more than welcome! Would you be able to introduce us to any individuals or groups that seem like a good match? If you’re not sure if they live in a food desert, that’s okay, we are happy to find that out. Please email [email protected] with any recommendations or to receive suggested questions if you want to collect the stories on your own!

Share your story today!