OLL Alumna, and founder of the non-profit, Aidan’s Heart Foundation (AHF), Christy Marshall Silva ’92 has been named as one of the L’Oréal Paris 2018 Women of Worth Honorees. Christy founded AHF when her son Aidan passed away from Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) at seven years old. AHF’s mission is committed to providing awareness, education, and support to the communities of the southeast Pennsylvania region and its surrounding area to create heart-safe communities for youth regarding the prevention of and/or response to SCA. Christa was selected from a pool of 6,000 nominees, and as a finalist, AHF will be awarded $10,000, and will now compete for an additional $25,000.
According to a press release from L’Oréal Paris, Christy is one of 10 women in the country to receive this prestigious Woman of Worth award this year, for her charitable efforts and perseverance in making a difference in her community.
On Labor Day Weekend in 2010, Christy Silva’s seven-year-old son Aidan suddenly collapsed, without warning, and died from unexplained SCA. Despite investigations by medical examiners and geneticists, the cause for the arrhythmia that “short-circuited” Aidan’s heart is still unknown. Christy and her husband soon learned that 70 percent of conditions that cause SCA in children can be detected by a simple, quick, non-invasive routine electrocardiogram, or EKG. In the midst of their personal tragedy, Christy was determined to take action and keep Aidan’s memory alive. She founded AHF to provide awareness, education, and support to the communities of the southeast Pennsylvania region and its surrounding area to create heart-safe communities for youth in the prevention of and/or response to SCA.
With Christy’s leadership, the Foundation has successfully coordinated the EKG screenings of 1,800 youths, detecting potentially life-threatening heart conditions that went previously undetected in 25 young people. An additional 15 percent of those screened were also referred for follow-up testing for high blood pressure, cholesterol, and other health-impacting conditions. The Foundation has helped passed state legislation (PA Act 35, known as “Aidan’s Law”) to ensure that all schools in Pennsylvania are equipped with updated AED devices – and trained more than 4,000 sixth-grade students and 400+ adults in life-saving CPR-AED skills. According to Christy, “Being a L’Oréal Paris Women of Worth means sharing life-saving information that will help other families learn how to avoid the tragedy of losing a loved one. Aidan may be gone but our work is keeping his legacy alive.”
Rita Stern, spokesperson for AHF remarks that “With the extra $25K, our foundation could do more community heart screenings, subsidize more AEDs through the Delaware Valley, and train more kids on how to perform CPR and how to use an AED which would save more lives. Christy’s inspiration is Aidan, his sweet spirit, how he always tended to other children including his little brother Devin. AHF’s biggest achievement is the number of hearts screened, AEDs installed, kids taught CPR + AED skills, and creating a culture of lifesavers.”
To support Christy and her important cause, vote for her to become the National Honoree and recipient of an additional $25,000. You can cast your vote once per day through November 30th:
Visit WomenofWorth.com and register with an e-mail address to vote once per day. Please do not register more than one email address per person or we risk disqualification. Please note that on November 9th, 4 votes per person are permissible for Christy for that day only.
- “Like” a post about an Honoree on the L’Oréal Paris Facebook page
- Re-tweet a mention about one of the Women of Worth made by L’Oréal Paris on Twitter
The L’Oréal Paris division of L’Oréal USA, Inc. is a total beauty care brand dedicated to empowering women by offering the most luxurious and innovative products and services available in the mass market. The brand’s signature tagline, “Because I’m Worth It,” was born in the United States in 1971 to celebrate the beauty and intrinsic self-worth of women, and for more than 100 years, L’Oréal Paris has been providing women around the world with products in four major beauty categories: hair color, haircare, skincare, and cosmetics. With L’Oréal’s invention of hair color in 1909, the brand continues to serve as the leading innovator of hair products across color, care, and styling with brands such as Superior Preference, Féria, Excellence Crème, Advanced Haircare, the Ever Collection, Advanced Hairstyle, and Elnett Satin Hairspray. L’Oréal Paris provides scientifically-advanced skincare products that are clinically proven to address individual skin concerns through its renowned brands Revitalift, Hydra Genius, Age Perfect, and Sublime Bronze. L’Oréal Paris’ iconic cosmetics collections include Infallible, True Match, Colour Riche, Voluminous, and Visible Lift. For more information about L’Oréal Paris and to receive personalized advice, expert tips, and exclusive content, please visit www.lorealparisusa.com or follow on Instagram (@LOrealMakeup, @LOrealHair, @LOrealSkin, @LOrealMens), Snapchat (@LOrealMakeup), Twitter (@LOrealParisUSA), Facebook (@LOrealParisUSA), and Pinterest (@LOrealParisUSA).
Adapted from the L’OREAL PARIS press release dated November 1, 2018.