October 5, 2020
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the American Heart Association’s (AHA) Heart Walk will be a virtual event in 2020 — but the good it does will make a real difference.
On October 24, employees from Texas Mutual Insurance Company will join an estimated one million participants across the country who will be walking independently to raise money and awareness for the fight against heart disease and strokes. By supporting The Austin Heart & Stroke Walk Digital Experience, area businesses will be helping people right here in Central Texas. That’s good for our community and for your business.
In the U.S., a person dies from cardiovascular disease every 39 seconds. Heart disease is responsible for 1 in 4 deaths in this country and costs Americans more than $200 billion a year. By encouraging your employees to adopt a heart-healthy lifestyle, you can reduce healthcare costs and keep good people on the job.
While the 2020 Heart & Stroke Walk will forego massive gatherings in cities across the country, the event is extremely interactive and has a number of opportunities for group involvement. The AHA has developed an activity tracker and mobile app allowing groups to keep in touch, participate in movement challenges, collect donations and earn rewards.
Aside from the main event, companies can take this opportunity to get their employees involved in wellness. For example, Texas Mutual is currently holding “Step” and “Chopped” challenges. In the Step challenge, walkers try to achieve a specific number of steps to meet their goal. The Chopped challenge provides participants with six healthy ingredients and gives them an allotted time to prepare a dish. Activities such as these can encourage employees, family members and others to adopt healthy practices year-round.
This year, participation in the Heart & Stroke Walk has a special importance since the AHA is helping fund research into the cardiovascular implications of the coronavirus and the use of antiviral drugs to combat the devastating effects of COVID-19. Your contribution can move Central Texas into a brighter future.
The Heart & Stroke Walk is an opportunity to help your employees lead healthier, more active lives. The digital format allows them to be creative in their involvement and that can have lasting benefits. But the event is only the beginning. By providing information on health and nutrition, implementing walking breaks during the work day and making healthy snacks available, you can encourage a healthier lifestyle all year long.
Texas Mutual is a proud supporter of AHA and we urge Austin businesses to take part in the 2020 Austin Heart & Stroke Walk Digital Experience. Visit the event website to register and receive more information.
To learn more about Texas Mutual’s commitment to the community, go to our Texas Mutual for our community page.