Barbra Boeta, vice president of community development at Texas Capital Bank, is passionate about the community she lives in. With a long family history of heart disease, Barbra is driving awareness throughout Central Texas and the Hispanic/Latino community to ensure longer, healthier lives.
Volunteer Voice: Barbra Boeta
As a Latina, I know I am at a higher risk for heart disease. It’s everywhere in my family, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, you name it we got it. We don’t talk about heart disease until something happens, and then some go to extremes and fail to keep up with the lifestyle reverting to what’s easy, (including myself). Knowing you need to make a change is very different than taking the steps to make those changes. Through the American Heart Association’s awareness initiatives, you are helping people to understand the root causes of the issues. Recipes and classes help folks make the necessary modifications needed to make a change.
My hope for the Hispanic community is to ensure access to healthy affordable foods. Eat healthy, stay away from processed foods; it’s easier said than done especially, when you are on a fixed income and don’t have access to fresh foods. As a community, we need to come together to ensure all have access to healthy food. A safe house and food on the table is the foundation for a person to be productive. You can’t focus on work or school if you haven’t had a good night’s rest, or you are hungry, and your body is starving for nutrients. Like everything it takes a village to make change happen. We need to help each other live a happy, healthy life.
The AHA-Austin chapter is working to make Austin an equitable healthy place for all. Thank you for all of the work you do in our community! Please let me know if you have any questions and thank you again for all your partnership with the American Heart Association!