February 1, 2008

Mercy’s Red Dress Ambassadors Sponsor Annual Art Contest

The Mercy Heart Center’s Red Dress Ambassadors will host their third annual art contest for kids during February, which is National Heart Month.

Children in kindergarten through the 8th grade are invited to submit an original, color picture that incorporates a red dress on 8 ½ by 11-inch paper.

The contest will be judged in four age categories: Kindergarten and first grade; second and third grades; fourth and fifth grades; and sixth through eighth grades. The first and second place winners in each category will win cash prizes of $50 and $25 respectively.

Mercy’s art contest seeks to alert Siouxland residents of all ages about the serious threat of cardiovascular disease – especially to women.

“Our annual Red Dress Art Contest is a great opportunity to teach children that they need to take care of their hearts,” chairperson of Mercy’s Red Dress Ambassadors. “Because heart disease is the No. 1 cause of death in our society, it is an important lesson to learn at an early age, and something very important to remember all through life.”

Four years ago, Mercy announced the formation of its Red Dress Campaign in conjunction with the American Heart Association’s national Go Red for Women program. The group of Red Dress Ambassadors was formed to emphasize the work of Mercy Heart Center in making all women aware that the number one cause of death in women is heart and cardiovascular disease. Since the group was founded, women of all ages from throughout Siouxland have joined the effort.

“More than 460,000 women die each year of heart and cardiovascular disease,” Galloway emphasized. “That is more than the next seven causes of death combined, including all forms of cancer.”

“For that reason, we need to do everything we can to make sure that women understand the importance of taking care of their hearts – from eating right, getting enough exercise, not smoking and seeing a doctor whenever there is a problem.”

The entry deadline for the 2008 Red Dress Art Contest is Feb. 22. Winners will be notified on Feb. 29.

To learn more about Mercy’s Red Dress Campaign, or to download entry forms for the Red Dress Art Contest, visit the Mercy Heart Center’s web pages on the Mercy Medical Center—Sioux City web site, www.mercysiouxcity.com.

Entry forms for the contest are also being distributed to students in grades kindergarten through 8 at all Sioux City Community Schools, South Sioux City Community Schools, Dakota Valley Schools, and Bishop Heelan Catholic Schools of Sioux City.