The Fight Against Heart Disease: My Journey as a Woman of Impact
In 2004, the campaign Go Red For Women was born to raise awareness among women about their greatest health threat—heart disease. Slowly, the campaign grew into a movement bringing together thousands of women.
Now, Go Red for Women is a trusted and passionate force for change. It provides a platform to help women and their families lead healthier lives and transform their communities.
It's not just about wearing red. It's not just about sharing heart health facts. It's about:
- Providing opportunities for women to take charge of their health
- Building communities that support access to healthy choices
- Demanding equal access to health care for all women and their families
- Increasing women in STEM in upcoming generations
In 2022, SchellmanWIN—our internal Women's Influence Network—became a sponsor of the cause. Their efforts resulted in over $6,000 in donations and raised awareness regarding the dangers of heart disease in women.
Why I'm Fundraising
This year, I'm excited to be nominated for Go Red for Women's Woman of Impact campaign.
As part of this year's class of changemakers, I've brought together a team that's working to make the greatest impact possible on women's health. We'll be raising much-needed funds for the American Heart Association and working to improve the health of our communities with a specific focus on preventing heart disease and stroke.
We're promoting healthy lifestyles, building awareness, and raising critically-needed funds to support research and education initiatives. This year, our goal is to raise $10,000, and I hope we can count on your support.
The time is now. Women are leaning into the idea that when we take a stand, commit, and work together, real change is possible, and in this case, it's necessary. Cardiovascular diseases, including heart disease and stroke, claim a woman's life about every 80 seconds, but with your help, we can change that.
We hope you will join us on our mission to raise awareness and help prevent these diseases. Our campaign runs through April 6, 2023—to support it, click here.
About AVANI DESAI
Avani Desai is the CEO at Schellman. Avani has more than 15 years of experience in IT attestation, risk management, compliance and privacy. Avani’s primary focus is on emerging healthcare issues and privacy concerns for organizations. Named as one of the 2017 Global Leaders in Consulting by Consulting Magazine she has also been featured and published in the ISSA Journal, ITSP Magazine, ISACA Journal, Information Security Buzz, Healthcare Tech Outlook, and many more. Avani also sits on the board of Catalist, a not for profit that empowers women by supporting the creation, development and expansion of collective giving through informed grantmaking. In addition, she is co-chair of 100 Women Strong, a female only venture philanthropic fund to solve problems related to women and children in the community.