Great gifts, great cause

The best present is one filled with meaning. Purchase such a gift at the Holiday Vendor Fair on Nov. 13 in the Durham Outpatient Center West Atrium.

UNMC, UNMC Physicians and The Nebraska Medical Center are organizing the vendor fair with proceeds benefiting the American Heart Association (AHA). A gift purchased at the fair will help build healthier lives free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke.

The fair, which will run from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., will include items from vendors such as:

• Mary Kay,
  
• Tastefully Simple,
  
• Tupperware,
  
• Scrapbook Happy,
  
• A Hill of Beans and many more.

“The holiday vendor fair is a relaxed and fun opportunity to get some holiday shopping done in a convenient location, while raising money for an excellent cause.” Deb Sampson

“The holiday vendor fair is a relaxed and fun opportunity to get some holiday shopping done in a convenient location, while raising money for an excellent cause,” said Deb Sampson, lead cardiovascular nurse specialist at The Nebraska Medical Center.

The funds raised from the holiday fair will be donated to the AHA’s Heart Walk event.

Many of the funds that our campus donates to the AHA come back to benefit UNMC. In the past five years, the AHA has funded nearly $5 million for new research studies at UNMC.

The AHA has been important in advancing the treatment and prevention of cardiovascular diseases. Research funded by the AHA has helped reduce death and disability due to heart disease and stroke by more than 30 percent over the last decade.

The AHA has current goals of reducing coronary heart disease and stroke risk by 25 percent by 2010.

“The money raised and donated from the holiday vendor fair stays right here in our local region,” said Cindy Sutton, UNMC cardiology administrator. “The research funded from donations like these directly affects communities in the heartland.”

UNMC employees seeking more information should contact Sutton at 559-8077.