'Heart Ball' Supports Make Time For Health Campaign in Oakland

From Antoinette Mayer, Director of Corporate Citizenship:

As part of Blue Shield of California’s collaboration with the American Heart Association’s Make Time for Health program in Oakland, Blue Shield had the honor to serve as a major “Life is Why” sponsor of the annual Heart Ball in San Francisco, which took place on March 21 at San Francisco’s Pier 27.

The gala welcomed leaders from the corporate, philanthropic and medical communities for a night of festivities that included dinner, entertainment, dancing and a charity auction — with all proceeds benefiting the American Heart Association (AHA) and its mission to building healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke.

As one of the night’s speakers, Blue Shield’s Dr. Jeff Bailet, executive vice president of Health Care Quality and Affordability, thanked the AHA for their partnership and shared with attendees how proud we are to work alongside them to help people live healthier lives.

Dr. Bailet highlighted our collaboration on the Make Time for Health program, a three-year initiative funded entirely by Blue Shield that provides health education to elementary schools in downtown Oakland. The program also features special events that help students learn about heart-healthy habits during fun-filled day-long festivals. In all, the program will impact more than 2,000 elementary school students in Oakland by encouraging them to increase physical activity, follow balanced nutrition and life a smoke-free lifestyle.

The AHA has been especially instrumental in our support of our new neighbors in Oakland, as we prepare to move into our new headquarters later this year. To prepare for this move, we have committed to investing in the communities where we will live and work with our #80forOakland campaign.

As part of that campaign, we also partnered earlier this year with the AHA to launch a new self-service blood pressure kiosk at the Roots Community Health in East Oakland. The kiosk is a particularly important tool for the community, as high blood pressure affects 20 percent of the clients who visit Roots Community Clinic.