More than 50 attendees donned red stilettos, ballet flats and wedges at the 6th Annual Red Shoe Luncheon benefiting the American Heart Association.
Kicking off at Buckhead’s Maggiano’s Little Italy, the fundraiser was founded by Tarcha Curtis two weeks after she was released from the hospital after her first cardiac procedure at just 36 years old. Curtis’s mother was 38 when she found out she had heart disease and died in her early 40s, so the event is a deeply personal one. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women in the United States. Through ticket sales and personal donations, The Red Shoe Luncheon, which is scheduled around National Heart Health month and Curtis’s mom’s birthday, aims to raise money to fight the growing threat. This year’s event garnered more than $3,000. And it wasn’t just ladies sporting red shoes for the cause. Men from around the community also showed up in red footwear. “The first Red Shoe Luncheon started with just six people in attendance and has slowly grown in numbers,” Curtis says. “I am looking to make this event 10 times as big by 2020, our 10-year anniversary.” – Jessica Wise
