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Every February for the past five years, Soirée has teamed up with the American Heart Association to honor more than 50 American Heart Association Sweethearts and their parents. These are selfless young women, devoted to learning about heart disease and helping to eradicate it.

The American Heart Association Sweethearts are high school sophomores who (from Mid-August to February’s Heart Ball) actively participate in a program designed to teach them about heart-healthy lifestyles and the prevention of heart disease through education and volunteerism. Through the Sweetheart program, these young ladies learn that heart disease is the number one killer of women.

During their tenure as Sweethearts, they focus on the goals of the American Heart Association and how to implement them on a daily basis in their lives. The Sweethearts participate in both educational programs and volunteerism with the assistance of these five area hospitals along with the help of many committee volunteers: Arkansas Children’s Hospital, Arkansas Heart Hospital, Baptist Health, St. Vincent Health, and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

In addition to these requirements and equally as important, Sweethearts are interested in learning about their community, volunteering their time, making lifelong friends, and learning about “heart” health. They serve as representatives of their families, schools, peers, and the American Heart Association and as models for good behavior, ethics, and moral standards.

As a fundraiser for the American Heart Association Central Arkansas Heart Ball, Sweethearts pay an individual patronage fee. While Sweethearts, they also serve a minimum of fifteen community service/education hours each centered on learning more about becoming advocates for heart health in their generation. Sweethearts are invited during the spring before their Sweetheart year and selected on a first-come, first-serve basis. Young ladies interested in becoming participants in the Sweetheart program should contact the American Heart Association at 501-375-9148 before March of their freshmen year of high school.

We're thankful to all 54 for their efforts in supporting awareness of heart disease, the number one killer of women. We're also thankful (from the bottom of our hearts) to our sponsors – Roberson's, Arvest, Proposals and the Arkansas Heart Hospital – for helping make this possible.

With pleasure, we present the 2010 Sweetheart Class, photographed at Cobblestone & Vine West by Jason Masters.