On February 25, 2023, the Charlotte Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc held a community service initiative to bring heart health awareness to the Charlotte area. The event was open to the public and included many community platforms such as Mecklenburg Public Health Department, the YMCA, American Heart Association, Atrium Health, and more. The Living FREE Lab’s project manager Dr. Ramine Alexander was personally invited to share her knowledge and work with nutrition and heart health at the event. Accompanied by one of the lab’s project coordinators, Tyisha Harper, they created a heart-healthy display about how everyday food affects our health. This display was interactive for people to see how much salt and sugar are in certain food items. “Let’s Talk Salt & Sugar.” Through this interactive game, Dr. Alexander and Tyisha were able to educate people about how to be mindful of the food items they eat, how to modify the salt and sugar to enjoy favorite foods, and how to listen to signs of hunger and fullness when partaking in meals. They also recruited community partners and members to join and share our HONOR study information with their organizations and personal connections. Overall, the event was successful. We thank the men of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. for allowing us to join their event and network with many other organizations to bring awareness to Heart Health!
By Tyisha Harper
