NEWBURGH – Though it may have looked like an early Valentine’s Day celebration, the Mount Saint Mary College community “went red” on Friday, February 3, for a different cause: to help stop heart disease.
National Wear Red Day, founded in 2003 by the American Heart Association (Go Red For Women) and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, raises funds to fight and awareness to curtail heart disease. According to the American Heart Association, nearly half a million American women per year die from heart disease, making it the number one killer of women in America.
According to Go Red For Women, the risk of heart disease decreases with a healthy diet and regular exercise.
Kathleen O’Keefe, associate director of the college’s Career Center and member of the Orange County Heart Association Executive Leadership Team, facilitated the Wear Red event on the Mount campus.
The college community has raised nearly $500 and donations are still being accepted at https://tinyurl.com/REDMSMC
Funds raised will be used to support educational programs about the risk for heart disease and stroke as well as for research into increasing cardiovascular health.
![](https://hudsonvalleypress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/HVCU_Dec2024.jpg")
![](https://hudsonvalleypress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/WaldenSavingsBank1.jpg")
