Heart Walk to color SHU red

Bring your friends, family and dogs to the SHU Color Me Red Heart Walk/Run on April 5, rain or shine! The event is part of Seton Hill University’s (SHU) Wellness Week, sponsored by SHU’s Wellness Center, which begins March 31 and includes a variety of activities and events throughout the week.

A new addition has been added to the Heart Walk this year; as a part of Color Me Red, colored powders will be thrown on participants as they walk or run the course. Don’t worry, the powder is safe and will wash right off.

“The biggest thing is getting people to turn up, and as students being told about heart disease being one of the major killers in the U.S. would not get them to come out to the walk, so we thought about incorporating something to get their attention,” said Joseph Tchimou, a sports management major who is organizing the Heart Walk for his senior capstone project. “After talking to students about Color Me Red, we’re getting a lot more of a response, and I think we’re going to get a big turnout.”

Each participant of the Heart Walk will donate $5 to the Westmoreland American Heart Association.

“As we get more people involved, even if we don’t raise $5000, it’s awareness so that each year it will build. That’s the primary goal, we want to get out information about health and raise funds for the American Heart Association, ” said Janice Beckage, campus nurse.

Heart disease is the number one killer of people in the United States more than any other disease, harming people of all ages.

“We’re on a campus with ‘invincibles’ here, we need to be aware that wellness starts now in your life,” said Timothy Mietzner, LECOM associate professor of microbiology.

The Heart Walk will start in front of Admin and travel to Caritas Christi before returning to Admin for a total distance of 2.2 miles.

“We always walk up past Caritas Christi to include the sisters, because we figure if it wasn’t for them, where would we be? We walk right past their front door and the sisters give us bottles of water as we go past,” said Beckage. Additionally, fresh fruit and granola bars will be provided by Aramark.

“Wellness isn’t just nutrition and exercise, there’s other things you have to be aware of, such as using your seatbelts, being financially well, and not only that but there are alternatives to traditional kind of medicine and we need to leave those opportunities available to students and staff–there’s massage therapy, acupuncture, aromatherapy, art therapy, spiritual wellness” said Beckage. “People talk about the fact that they’re stressed…if someone is failing a class they’re not going to be well. We need to make sure that they’re aware that there is more to wellness than just the physical aspect.”

Therapy dogs will be on campus Monday through Friday during Wellness Week, a super salad bar will be in the dining hall April 1, a variety of healthcare professionals will be giving lectures on April 2 and the Art Therapy program will hold a presentation on April 3.

Register for the Heart Walk by contacting heartwalk@setonhill.edu, or registration begins at 9 a.m. in front on Admin before the event begins at 10 a.m. on April 5.

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