Isabella Camacho founded Gators for the Children’s Heart Foundation last year to bring the Congenital Heart Walk to Gainesville.
Camacho, a UF applied physiology and kinesiology junior, will walk for her 8-year-old brother, who was born with a congenital heart defect.
“Watching such a little person be so strong was incredibly inspiring,” Camacho, 20, wrote in an email.
She’s helping Gainesville host its first Congenital Heart Walk on Sunday on Flavet Field, and she is bringing her friend, American Idol Season 13 finalist Emily Piriz.
The Congenital Heart Walk is a nationwide event to raise money for research and programs. In Gainesville, it will be a 3-kilometer walk around UF’s campus.
Meg Gardiner, a coordinator for the Congenital Heart Association, said more than 200 people have already registered for the event, which will feature performances and families’ stories of congenital heart defects. She said the goal is to change congenital heart defect statistics.
“We discovered that Gainesville was a part of Florida we wanted to tap into,” she said.
Camacho said the organization has worked hard to reign in the community.
“I am so excited to see that our hard work and dedication brought UF and the Gainesville community together to combat congenital heart disease,” she said.
[A version of this story ran on page 6 on 3/20/2015 under the headline “GNV to host first congenital heart walk”]
