27. Participate in a charity event

I'm excited to announce I accomplished my first task off my 30 Before 30 list! Number 27 was "Participate in a Charity Event" and this past Saturday I, along with a number of my coworkers, walked in the American Heart Association's Tampa Bay Heart Walk 2012!

The mission of the American Heart Association (AHA) states "Building healthier lives, free of cardiovascular disease and stroke" which are the #1 and #4 causes of death in the United States. As Neuro nurses, my floor sees the immediate effects of stroke (often secondary to cardiovascular disease) every day and we definitely wanted to step up and help out. We participated as part of the overall TGH team, as well as forming our own mini team, The Brain Trotters.

AHA's goal was to raise more than $1.7 million dollars, and I'm excited to say that the end result of their fundraising efforts was just shy of $2 million dollars! This money will be devoted to education and preventative measures for patients who may not have their own resources.

9A Neuroscience Nurses representing TGH...

...before turning into the Brain Trotters!

Some of my girls before taking our 3 mile walk..Emily, Tiff, Kiersten, and Bridget

We kept it at a leisurely pace with the crowd and finished in about an hour. Not exactly a competitive pace but hey, you know I was participating in a walk not a run, right? Haha. I'm very excited to have crossed something off my list and can't wait to see what my next thing to accomplish will be!!

For more information on the American Heart Association and how you can participate in future events, visit the website here!

Love,
KayCee