The Search Is On To Honor Heroes Fighting Heart Disease
Congressional Black Caucus Foundation President Advocates Efforts,
Grant Program Aimed at Stemming Heart Disease Among African American Women

It’s time to take a stand for all the women in our lives, the sisters in our communities and those friends we hold near and dear. Heart disease, the leading cause of death among American women, kills one in four of us – and it’s more prevalent in African-American women than any other race.

These troubling statistics, and others equally as serious, have brought the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Inc. (CBCF), a nonpartisan, nonprofit, public policy, research and educational institute, together with General Mills Inc., the makers of Cheerios, to support heart disease awareness in our communities.

We’re pleased to join hands – and hearts – for the Sisters Saving Hearts grant initiative, and with your help, we can turn the tide, inspire each other and reverse these deadly figures. In its second year, Sisters Saving Hearts, this grassroots grant-giving program reaches communities nationwide and recognizes heart-inspiring leaders.

The initiative will again award five $5,000 grants to individuals or service organizations that have taken the severity of the disease to heart and are working within the African-American community to raise awareness for heart disease prevention. Nominations can be submitted between February 1 and March 14, 2008, via the initiative’s Web site SistersSavingHearts.com or through the mail.

The Web site features stories of last year’s heart heroines – Cynthia Brown, Sharyn Dee Brown, Yvonka Marie Hall, Judy Lubin and the Fairfield County Chapter of Links Inc. – who have taken the fight into their own hands and improved their communities in the process.

The site also contains health and wellness information to help women better understand how they can reduce their risk of developing heart disease, such as keeping cholesterol levels in check.

As Sara Rohland of General Mills says: “There are simple steps you can take to lower your chances of developing heart disease and its risk factors. The good news here is that women can decrease their risk of heart disease by as much as 82 percent by leading a healthy lifestyle.”

The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation is excited to partner with Cheerios to award grant monies to ordinary individuals who are doing extraordinary things to fight heart disease.

CBCF is uniquely positioned to address the challenges facing our minority communities today and our programs consistently touch lives in extraordinary ways. We have a long heritage of partnering with Cheerios on health-related initiatives, and understand that tackling heart disease together is a natural extension of this collaboration. Distributing these grant monies will be an impactful way to address a significant and largely preventable disease.

Please join our effort to honor heart-inspiring heroes through the Sisters Saving Hearts program. These grant monies will provide unrestricted funds to nonprofit organizations, and help them continue the fight against heart disease. If someone you know – a friend, family member, neighbor, co-worker – should be recognized for dedicating their time, talents and passion to fight heart disease in their local communities, please send in a nomination. You can even nominate yourself.

In all $25,000 will help fund programs that fight heart disease and educate African Americans on identifying the risks.

Please visit the Foundation’s Web site at www.cbcfinc.org to learn how our organization is working in Washington and across the country on your behalf to fight – and eventually erase – heart disease. And please visit www.SistersSavingHearts.com for details about the grant program and a nomination form.

Your participation can reverse those staggering statistics and enable us to stand tall in our fight against this deadly disease.

Sincerely,

Elsie L. Scott, Ph.D.
President and Chief Executive Officer
Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Inc.