Fifteen years ago,my father died at the young age of 44 while waiting for a heart transplant. Chances are, you too have someone in your family who has died or suffered from a heart-related illness. Heart disease is the #1 killer of both men and women in the United States. Further, women account for 52.8% of all heart disease related deaths!
This purpose of the reading event Books for the Heart is to raise money for the American Heart Association and/or to honor a loved one. [Edit: if you live outside of the United States you can donate to the major heart organization of your own country!] There are many ways to participate. You can sponsor yourself and donate a certain amount of money for every book you read or every page you read during February 1-14. You can ask for sponsors. You can donate a set amount. You can donate in a loved one’s name. It doesn’t really matter which books you read, but I do ask that by participating you commit to donating a minimum of $5 to the American Heart Association. Other than that, you decide on how you’ll participate. I plan on donating $5 for each of the books that I read and $2 for every participant in this event, up to a maximum of $100.
I hope you’ll join me!
by Philipp Meyer (to be released on 2/24/09)
by Joanna Smith Rakoff (to be released on 4/7/09)
