{"id":381637,"date":"2026-06-01T16:36:35","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T20:36:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/greenvillejournal.com\/?p=381637"},"modified":"2026-06-01T16:36:56","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T20:36:56","slug":"american-heart-associations-upstate-heart-ball-raises-over-360k","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/greenvillejournal.com\/news\/american-heart-associations-upstate-heart-ball-raises-over-360k\/","title":{"rendered":"American Heart Association\u2019s Upstate Heart Ball raises over $360K"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The American Heart Association raised more than $360,000 during its 2026 Upstate Heart Ball campaign.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nearly 400 community leaders, volunteers and survivors attended the annual event held May 15 at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena. The theme of this year\u2019s Upstate Heart Ball was <a href=\"https:\/\/towncarolina.com\/photos-heart-ball-2026-benefits-american-heart-association\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u201cA Southern Palm Soir\u00e9e.\u201d<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Upstate Heart Ball marks the culmination of a year-round campaign focused on expanding research, advocacy, education and access to care for those affected by cardiovascular disease and stroke. The raised funding directly supports the American Heart Association\u2019s mission \u201cto be a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThrough this community\u2019s outstanding support, we are advancing access to lifesaving education and care, powering groundbreaking scientific discoveries, advocating for better policies and health outcomes and building a stronger, healthier Upstate for all,\u201d said Ashley Coleman, American Heart Association Upstate executive director.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Local survivors, caregivers, researchers and community leaders shared their personal stories during the Upstate Heart Ball. The event\u2019s honorees included<\/span><\/p>\n<ul class=\"pk-list-styled\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mary Burton Wilkins and Will Wright, congenital heart defect survivors and Open Your Heart honorees<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Trey Morrow and Emily Koon, heart disease survivors<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sarah Key Wrenn, Miss South Carolina<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">David and Susan Wilkins, 2026 legacy chairs<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lekesha Benson, community advocate<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Boone Norris, a five-month-old open-heart surgery survivor<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Walt and Donyelle Wilkins, chairs of the 2026 Upstate Heart Ball, said it has been an honor to lead the campaign and unite the community to support more lifesaving research and education.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cAs parents of a heart survivor and friends to many others personally impacted by heart disease and stroke, we understand how important it is to continue advancing this work,\u201d Walt and Donyelle Wilkins said. \u201cWe could not be more proud of how the Upstate community has rallied together to help save lives.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For more information, visit <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/ahagreenvillesc.ejoinme.org\/MyEvents\/20252026GreenvilleSCHeartBall\/tabid\/1552808\/Default.aspx\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https:\/\/ahagreenvillesc.ejoinme.org\/MyEvents\/20252026GreenvilleSCHeartBall\/tabid\/1552808\/Default.aspx<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The American Heart Association raised more than $360,000 during its 2026 Upstate Heart Ball campaign.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4371,"featured_media":381638,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"powerkit_post_featured":[],"ppma_author":[40324],"class_list":["post-381637","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","cat-2-id"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.7 (Yoast SEO v27.7) - 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