Tomahawk youngster lands Kids Heart Challenge All-Star honor

TOMAHAWK – In just his first full school year, Tomahawk’s Forrest Teeters made quite the impact in the American Heart Association (AHA)’s Kids Heart Challenge campaign.

Forrest, now a first grader at St. Mary’s Catholic School and the son of Brian and Ellen Teeters, earned Kids Heart Challenge All-Star honors as a top fundraiser across the state. For the year, Forrest raised a total of $1,304.67.

Ellen said Forrest was born with a heart defect, which led to a heart transplant when he was just six weeks old.

For nearly 50 years, the AHA has been working with educators in elementary, middle and high schools across the nation to help educate students about healthy living.

AHA explained that the Kids Heart Challenge is a “service learning-based fundraising program that gives students the opportunity to feel good, while doing good.”

“It’s a way for students to better their life – all while changing someone else’s,” the AHA stated. “Students, families and staff also learn valuable life skills, including how to make smart food choices, the importance of avoiding vaping/tobacco and the lifesaving skill of Hands-Only CPR.”

The AHA said the Kids Heart Challenge engages elementary school students and their families to learn how to keep their heart, body and brain healthy, while helping kids with special hearts live longer, healthier lives.

“It’s a fun and meaningful way to teach lifelong habits of health and helping others,” the AHA stated.

“We’re so thankful for the efforts of all our Kids Heart Challenge participants and volunteers every year,” said AHA Region Vice President, Development, School Engagement Lisa Hoffman. “Their passion, their excitement and their willingness to continuously drive our mission forward is just so inspiring. We obviously couldn’t do it without all of them.”

Funds raised through the Kids Heart Challenge allow students to support community wellness and to be part of the solution by funding research on a path to improving cardiovascular health for all, according to the AHA.

The AHA provided the following statistics:

• Approximately one in three children have an unhealthy weight, with 20 percent being obese.
• Only about 25 percent of youth ages six to 11 and 13 percent of youth ages 12 to 17 get the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity every day.
• About 28 percent of high school students report ever using any tobacco product, with 12.6 percent being active users.
• More than 23,000 children experience cardiac arrest outside of the hospital each year; 40 percent of those are related to sports; nearly 20 percent are infants.
• Congenital heart defects are the most common birth defect, affecting nearly 40,000 babies each year, or about 1 in 100 births.

For more information about the Kids Heart Challenge, visit www.heart.org/getstarted.

About the American Heart Association

The American Heart Association said it is a “relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives.”

“Dedicated to ensuring equitable health in all communities, the organization has been a leading source of health information for more than 100 years,” the AHA stated. “Supported by more than 35 million volunteers globally, we fund groundbreaking research, advocate for the public’s health and provide critical resources to save and improve lives affected by cardiovascular disease and stroke. By driving breakthroughs and implementing proven solutions in science, policy and care, we work tirelessly to advance health and transform lives every day.”

Learn more about the AHA at www.heart.org or by calling 1-800-AHA-USA1.