by Noella Noelophile®
Valentine’s Day may be over–but Heart Health Month isn’t.
Here’s a fun way for you (and your Valentine, if you like!) to celebrate it.
Today at noon, Long Beach community activist and “Chief Inspiration Officer” Justin Rudd’s Community Action Team hosts the “Red High Heels Walk on 2nd Street”. Their goals: to raise funds for charity, and raise awareness about heart health.
This is a free event, with no fundraising required. Participants walk one mile, in red shoes (which can be high heels or otherwise) past the shops and restaurants of Long Beach’s Second Street. Justin’s nonprofit Community Action Team will donate five dollars to charity, for each person in red shoes who completes the walk.
Now, we’ve participated in several of these so far, and they’re a LOT of fun. Not only do participants get the “red carpet” treatment…
…but there’s also a very festive atmosphere, involving a lot of laughter, fun and imagination.
…and any red shoes qualify. Please note, according to the registration page, shoes must be solid red, and flip-flops don’t count–neither do red shoelaces. Pink or burgundy shoes? Sorry, those aren’t, technically, red. Shoes that are completely spray-painted red will be fine, but those covered with red tape “are discouraged”.
Women, men and youth are all encouraged to participate in the Red High Heels Walk. Registration begins at 11:30 this morning at the start of the route. The walk itself, from one end of the business district of Second Street to the other, takes about thirty minutes, and as of Friday evening, more than three hundred participants had signed up. Wheelchair participants count, but children in strollers do not, and you’re encouraged to wear red clothing, in addition to your red shoes, and create signs about heart health to bring along.
Oh–and your favorite canine is welcome–with or without red shoes.
Community Action Team’s “Red High Heels Walk” begins today, Saturday, February 21, at noon, with registration beginning at 11:30 at Livingston Park, 220 Park Avenue at East Livingston Drive in Long Beach’s Belmont Shore. Participation is free, and everyone’s invited. Shoes need to be solid red to qualify, rather than simply having red shoelaces. Registration information is available here.