The American Heart Association began their work in 1924 when six cardiologists recognized the need for education on heart disease. The roots of the organization began in 1915 at the first Association for the Prevention of Heart Disease in New York City. At that time their was tremendous ignorance about heart disease and people thought that they needed to be bed ridden and that their future life was without hope and they were doomed.
The mission of the American Heart Association is to build healthier lives free of cardiovascular diseases and strokes. They also want to reduce the prevalence of smoking and high blood cholesterol and to improve physical activity. By living a health lifestyle, people can expect to live a longer and more productive life. The fact that many americans are overweight causes a lot of medical and health issues.
The American Heart Association is promoting a Start program where they are encouraging people to exercise more frequently. People do not have to be strapped to their desk all day. Starting a walking program is good way to exercise and the fresh air and activity is a good benefit to your heart and cardiovascular system. You can also walk with a friend to increase the enjoyment of this activity.
The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute traces its roots back to 1947 when Dr. Sidney Farber founded the Children's Cancer Research Foundation. Today the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute has about 3,150 employees and serves about 185,000 adult and pediatric patients a year. The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is a principle teaching affiliate of the Harvard Medical School. It is also federally designated as a center of AIDS research.
The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute provides expert, compassionate care to children and adults with cancer while advancing the understanding, diagnosis, treatment care and prevention of cancer and related diseases. The staff at Dana-Farber are compassionate and caring and they always do their best to care for the needs of their patients.
One of the best known charities is the Jimmy Fund, named after one of the patients who was treated for cancer and then recovered to live as an adult. The Jimmy Fund was started as a charity by the Boston Braves but when they moved to Milwaukee for the 1953 season, the Boston Red Sox became the official charity. Former Red Sox star Ted Williams was a supported of the Jimmy Fund and he raised millions of dollars over the years.
The Smithsonian Institute is an educational and research institution and museum complex administered and funded by the United States Government and from its endowment. It's monthly magazine is called the Smithsonian. It was originally founded for the increase and diffusion of knowledge by the bequest to the United States by British Scientist James Smithson. On August 10, 1846 President James Polk established the Smithsonian Institute as a trust to be administered by a board of regents and a secretary of the Smithsonian.
Today the Smithsonian Institute is made up of a number of museums and their main headquarters are housed in a castle like building in Washington, DC. They house a number of marvelous collections at the Air and Space Museum, American Art Museum, American History, National Zoo, Natural History, Portrait Gallery and the Ripley Center.
One can also become a member of the Smithsonian Institute and you can receive their newsletter and monthly magazine. Their endowment is strong and these museums are some of the best in the country and the world. These artifacts are priceless and the museum is protected by a state of the art security system. The items cannot be replaced so they must be cared for.