Young Jericho Coach Has Another Top Year For The American Heart Association

This year’s Long Island Chapter- American Heart Association Heart Walk took place on yet another sunny Sunday morning, Sept. 18. Field 5 at Jones Beach was filled with energetic walkers ready for the 3 mile trek along the boardwalk. Survivors, families of those affected by cardiovascular disease and those involved in caring for persons afflicted all came out to show their support.
Brian Berger may only be 16 years old, but he is extremely passionate about this cause. His father was affected at a young age and since that experience Brian has put a lot of time and energy in this cause. This year he served as coach of his 4 year old team, Dad’s Heart.
Berger set up the home page for the team, reached out to supporters and organized the events of the day. Along with the Messing/Kovar and Bulavinetz families, this team raised over $38,000.
Of note, in 2021, Dad’s Heart was the #1 Fundraising Community Team. Overall the 2022 Long Island Heart Walk raised over $580,000.
Currently a junior at Jericho High School, Berger is always trying to get those around him involved in this cause. Many students from his class participated in the walk and he hopes to do more in the months ahead. Heart month will be here in February and Berger will continue to work on changing some worrisome statistics with his fundraising. In the United States, someone has a heart attack every 40 seconds. Hopefully this will not be the case in the future.
—Submitted by Brian Berger