Throughout the month of February, Lexington-based LBX Company is donating $500 for every Link-Belt excavator, forestry machine or material handler sold throughout North America to the American Heart Association’s Life is Why We Give Campaign. LBX is also encouraging all of its North American dealers to further support their local AHA chapters. “As business leaders in our community, we can work together to help our employees and customers live longer, fuller, healthier lives," said Eric Sauvage, LBX president and CEO. "Together we can make an impact."
This is the third year LBX has partnered with the AHA’s Central Kentucky chapter in the giving campaign, which generates about $50,000 in annual donations and helps support the AHA’s annual Heart Walk. “The dollars that we are raising come back to support us locally,” said Lisa Edwards, Heart Walk Director. Nearly 5,000 walkers participate and more than 110 local companies are represented at the Heart Walk, this year held May 11 at Keeneland.
Additional corporate supporters are also joining in to support the Life is Why We Give campaign and the fight against cardiovascular disease and stroke. The Don Franklin family of dealerships, for example, is donating $25 for every new vehicle sold at approximately 20 dealerships throughout Kentucky throughout February.
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Courtesy Central Kentucky American Heart Association
Eric Sauvage, LBX president, is a longtime volunteer and board member with the Central Kentucky American Heart Association.
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Courtesy Central Kentucky American Heart Association
During the month of February, LBX will donate $500 for every excavator sold throughout North America to the AHA.
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Courtesy Central Kentucky American Heart Association
In past years, LBX has average about $50,000 for the AHA's This is Why We Give Campaign.
In 2018, the AHA’s Central Kentucky chapter also announced its largest-ever individual grant— $3.7 million awarded to University of Kentucky College of Medicine to investigate vascular disease. “Research is a huge focus,” said Edwards, who noted that cardiovascular disease is the No. 1 killer nationally, including in Kentucky. “We’re currently close to about $5 million that we’re funding just in research dollars in Kentucky.” The Central Kentucky chapter’s local initiatives also include offering CPR training and workplace health seminars to area businesses, partnering with Shaping Our Appalachian Region (SOAR) on education and outreach throughout Eastern Kentucky, and working with African-American churches and at-risk communities locally, among other projects. Visit www.heart.org for more information.