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First Posted: 4/17/2014

More than 500 people turned out for the Northeast PA Heart Walk on April 12 at Nay Aug Park in Scranton. The first of two Northeast PA Heart Walks, the Scranton walk helped raise more than $56,000 to date. Fundraising will continue through the second walk, scheduled for Saturday, May 31 at Kirby Park in Kingston.

Among the walk participants was 2-year-old heart defect survivor Vayda Evans of Old Forge. Vayda was selected as the child chair of the 2014 Northeast PA Heart Walk, and will also participate in the second walk in Luzerne County. Vayda was born in April 2012 and was diagnosed with Tetralogy of Fallot one day after she was born. She underwent open heart surgery when she was 5-months-old to repair her heart.

Vayda, along with her parents Amanda and Jonathan Evans, have become advocates for requiring pulse oximetry screening, a simple non-invasive test that can detect critical congenital heart defects, for all newborns in Pennsylvania. Vayda’s family led the walk as part of Vayda’s Happy Hearts team.

The team Remembering Rocky won the team t-shirt contest. Brian Hughes of Magic 93 served as emcee for the walk. The walk wrapped up with the raffle of 22 bicycles donated by physicians and staff at Commonwealth Hospital.

The Northeast PA Heart Walk is a family and pet-friendly event featuring a non-competitive walk, prizes and activities for participants of all ages. Walkers who raise a minimum of $100 receive a Heart Walk T-shirt and the opportunity to receive additional prizes based on their fundraising levels.

The Heart Walk is the American Heart Association’s premiere event that brings communities together to raise funds and celebrate progress in the fight against this country’s number one and number four killers, heart disease and stroke. Colleen Phillips, vice president of marketing, and Jill Houseknecht, marketing and community relations coordinator, of Cross Valley Federal Credit Union, are serving as co-chairs of the Northeast PA Heart Walk.

The 2014 Northeast PA Heart Walk is sponsored nationally by Subway Restaurants and Jenny Craig and locally by Cross Valley Federal Credit Union.

For more information about the Northeast PA Heart Walk or to register for the next walk on May 31 at Kirby Park, visit www.heart.org/northeastpawalk or contact Susan Wise at [email protected] or 614-396-3507.