The Times Tribune – By Josh McAuliffe, 04/08/2011
With spring slowly making its presence known in Northeast Pennsylvania, it’s increasingly a good time to get out for a walk – especially if it’s a walk for a good cause. The local branch of the American Heart Association is gearing up for its annual Northeast PA Start! Heart Walk. The Scranton walk is set for Saturday, April 30, at Nay Aug Park, while the Wilkes-Barre walk will be held Saturday, May 14, at Kirby Park.
Jack Scarfo, right, with his twin brother Nathan, is the child chairperson of this year’s American Heart Association Northeast PA Start! Heart Walk, set for April 30 in Scranton. – Elyssia Nicole Photography
Registration for each event begins at 9 a.m., with the walk starting at 10.
To register a team, visit www.americanheart.org/northeastpawalk.
Among the best-represented teams at the walks will be Jack of Hearts, led by this year’s Heart Walk child chairperson, West Scranton resident Jack Scarfo. Jack’s team has already raised more than $7,000 on behalf of the cause, thanks to a succession of fundraisers – night at the races, bocce tournament, t-shirt sale, etc. – coordinated by his parents, Lisa and Donny Scarfo, and their family and friends. (The fundraising total was reported incorrectly in a story on Jack that ran in the April 3 Sunday Times.) “We knew for the last year and a half that he was going to be child chair. That’s how we were able to get our fundraising efforts started so early,” Mrs. Scarfo said. “We’ve tried to do lots of different things, lots of out-of-the-box things.” Jack, who along with his identical twin brother Nathan will turn 3 on Friday, April 15, was diagnosed prenatally with Tetralogy of Fallot, a rare condition caused by the combination of four heart defects that are present at birth. In Jack’s case, the most pressing concern was an extremely narrowed pulmonary valve, which was successfully widened and patched when he underwent surgery at 3 months old. However, Jack might be required to have the surgery again when he hits adolescence, Mrs. Scarfo said. Mrs. Scarfo expects Jack of Hearts to end up with about 150 team members. Those who want to join the team or make a donation can do so by clicking on the Jack of Hearts link on the Heart Walk Web site. Congenital heart defects are the leading cause of birth defect-related deaths in the United States, so funding and awareness are crucial to the cause, Mrs. Scarfo said. “These kids are surviving, but we want them to thrive, too,” Mrs. Scarfo said. “Twenty years ago, you were considered a success if you lived. We want so much more than that.”
If you go
What: American Heart Association’s Northeast PA Start! Heart Walk
When and Where: Saturday, April 30, Nay Aug Park, Scranton; Saturday, May 14, Kirby Park, Wilkes-Barre
Details: Registration for each event begins at 9 a.m., with the walk starting at 10. To register a team, visit www.americanheart.org/northeastpawalk. For more information, call 822-9438.
