Village Manor raises awareness for women’s heart health on Go Red for Women Day
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The first Friday in February didn’t always hold a significant meaning.
Since 2004, however, it has.
Today was recognized as Go Red for Women Day, a time where people wear a red article of clothing to raise awareness for women’s heart health.
Workers at Village Manor in Bowling Green felt like they needed to do something to participate in the cause, so they hosted an event to raise money for the American Heart Association.
“We’ve got posted the risk factors, ways to exercise, eat better, stop smoking,” said Denise Mitchell, Community Outreach Coordinator at Village Manor. “All those things that can prevent that disease.”
Hear disease, that is. The number one cause of death among women in the United States of America.
“We don’t think about it as the number one killer, but it does kill one in three women a year,” Mitchell said.
Inside a dining room at Village Manor, Mitchell and several workers decorated the entire room with the color red; from balloons to streamers to posters and sunglasses, red was everywhere you looked.
All of the residents in attendance joined in with the theme, anxiously waiting for the special guest of the event: Western Kentucky University mascot Big Red.
“Having Big Red here today is definitely a show stopper,” said Anne Bunch, the Life Enrichment Coordinator who helped organize the event.
Bunch said that most of the residents at Village Manor, in some way or another, have been affected by heart disease during their lifetimes.
“Most of our residents can either relate to a situation with heart disease,” she said. “They can also come together and bring awareness to it, too.”
According to Mitchell, about 80 to 85 percent of workers at Village Manor are women, meaning Go Red for Women Day holds a significant meaning to all of them.
“We just encourage each other every day to be healthy in all aspects of mind, body, soul,” added Bunch. “Having the encouragement pushes you to do better day by day.”
