The Education Services Division
experienced significant growth in 2002
facilitating 340 independent programs
to audiences throughout the state of
Minnesota. These programs included
special events, a wide range of preventionbased
program and services and a growing
list of established community partnerships.
The highlights of the MHIF Education
Services Division 2002 activities are
summarized as follows:
There were four (4) special events hosted by the Education
Services Division in 2002. We began our special events
calendar in February with the In Touch With Heart
Health community-wide screening and education
program. This program has been offered for the past
12 years in commemoration of February as National
Heart Month and represents our longest running special
event. The Annual Spring Prevention Program, held in May,
featured Jackie Joiner Kersey, two-time Olympic gold
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Jackie Joyner-Kersee, two-time
Olympic gold medalist,
shared her inspirational
message at the 2002 Spring
Prevention Program.
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medalist and world champion, who shared her inspirational
story and her advice on how to stay motivated and get past everyday
barriers to being physically active. Mark Fenton, former editor of
Walking Magazine, author and current host of America’s Walking on PBS
Television joined Jackie in this program. The Women’s 8-Week Walk/Run
Training Clinic is a new event designed to encourage entrylevel
female exercisers to participate in a fun, structured group training
program and benefit from the ongoing guidance of an all-women’s coaching
staff and informational presentations from experts in
cardiovascular health and fitness. This program also
encouraged participants to enlist in the RYKA Take Fitness
to Heart 5K Women’s Walk/Run and 10K Women’s Run held
in August in Minneapolis, the proceeds of which supported
women’s heart health education programming at the
Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation. Our final event,
held in October, featured The Cooking Cardiologist,
Richard Collins, MD, Cardiologist and Director of the
Dean Ornish Program for Reversing Heart Disease at
Immanuel Medical Center in Omaha, who informed,
excited and entertained participants through interactive,
low-fat cooking demonstrations.
Our community programs and services, referred to as our
HeartMatters program, include health screenings, topic
presentations, interactive displays and health education
classes/seminars. These offerings are delivered through
schools, worksites and other locations statewide reaching
tens of thousands of Minnesotans with a prevention
message. The HiTECH Hearts program, our main schoolbased
initiative, visited more than 200 Minnesota schoolsites
reaching over 25,000 4th grade students in 2002.
Worksites continue to serve as a valuable environment to
deliver an important prevention message to established
audiences and we maintain a growing list of corporations
annually benefiting from our services. Also, our programming
takes us to a variety of other community-sites
throughout the state, including health care facilities,
community education centers and faith communities,
providing us with additional opportunities for heart
disease prevention education.
The Foundation is involved in a number of local and statewide
prevention initiatives advanced though established
community partnerships that prove invaluable to us in
our efforts to reach and serve defined high-risk populations.
Our partners include, but are not limited to, community
service groups, local heath centers, neighborhood associations,
voluntary health agencies, public agencies and
other nonprofit groups.
2002 Annual Report home page
