The Heart Carnival, benefiting the American Heart Association (AHA), will take place at Freedom Area High School for the second year in a row. All year, the AHA sponsors different events to raise money towards further researching for heart disease and strokes. The association commonly hosts “Red-Out” games where t-shirts are sold at the events, benefiting the AHA and those affected by heart disease.
Last year, the AHA contacted Freedom’s chapter of the National Honor Society (NHS) suggesting that they host an event. NHS accepted this offer, and planned on hosting an event that was both creative and educational. Because February is “Heart Awareness Month,” last year’s event was scheduled on Valentine’s Day.
Senior Gigi DeWeese, chairperson of the event last year, came up with the idea of a “Heart Carnival.” The Heart Carnival is an event that the entire school can participate in. DeWeese took the incentive and created the Heart Carnival event to raise money for AHA. The event will be continuing this year, as well.
Every dollar spent will earn one ticket for the chance to win a free prom ticket, or the monetary equivalent if the winner does not go to prom. If you are still confused, if you spend five dollars, you will receive five tickets that can be put into a drawing for a free prom ticket. T-shirts, hoodies, necklaces and more will be sold during lunch periods.
NHS will be assisting DeWeese with the set-up and running different carnival games. “How Warm is your Heart?” is a game that will be played at the carnival. The idea of the game is to melt ice cubes as fast as you can to fill a paper cup. Another game that will be played it “Shot to the Heart,” which is a hockey shoot-out game. “Pin the Valve on the Heart,” as well as other games will also be taking place at the event.
Throughout the Heart Carnival, multiple carnival games will be played to spread awareness about heart disease and strokes. Those who participated last year will recognize familiar games, as well as some new ones. All the money raised will go to AHA. DeWeese is hoping to raise over $500 for the association. That money can be used to be put towards purchasing a pacemaker. A pacemaker is a device placed in the chest or abdomen to help control irregular heart rhythms. This device could help save a person’s life.
The Heart Carnival will take place on Feb. 13 in the Freedom High School gym during AAP.