Unless you live in a vacuum, you’re probably familiar with the Red Dress symbol. If not, then one only has to look as far as a Diet Coke can to see the little Red Dress prominently displayed. The national symbol for The Heart Truth® campaign, the Red Dress serves to raise awareness of the campaign goals - namely, women need to take care of their heart health and more importantly, women need to take appropriate action to protect heart health. Despite the fact that heart disease is preventable, it remains the number one killer of women. The Red Dress is a great symbol to remind women to keep a healthy heart focus in their lives.
One of the tools used by The Heart Truth to promote education, awareness and the campaign goals has been the Red Dress Collection Fashion Shows and beginning in 2005, the First Ladies Red Dress Collection. Traveling the country to raise awareness of heart disease in women, the First Ladies Red Dress Collection features gowns and other garments (all red, naturally) worn by our First Ladies. Since its creation, the First Ladies Red Dress Collection has been exhibited across the country at venues such as the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, and the National First Ladies’ Library. The First Ladies Red Dress Collection will soon open at a new location - the George H. W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum.
Located in Canton, Texas, the George H. W. Bush Presidential Library will host the collection for a full year, with the exhibit opening on October 1, 2010, and running through August 14, 2011. The First Ladies Red Dress Collection features dresses worn by many of our former first ladies including Lady Bird Johnson, Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush, Eleanor Roosevelt, Bess Truman, and Pat Nixon. Some of the First Lady dresses, such as the Jackie Kennedy red dress, are extremely rare and rarely displayed. In addition, the exhibit will also feature 12 dresses from the Red Dress Collection Fashion Show which worn by celebrities such as Lee Ann Womack, Katie Couric, and Vanessa Williams.
Since the goal of The Heart Truth is to promote awareness about heart disease and need for women to take charge of their heart health, the exhibit won’t be just about the Red Dress. The Bush Library and Museum partnered with the Texas A&M Health Science Center, KBTX Media, and The Heart Truth to bring a whole new dimension to the exhibit, further raising awareness of heart disease in women. Planned activities include such things as a health screening fair (to check for things like diabetes, body mass index, heart disease risk), educational seminars, an interactive emergency room to teach resuscitation techniques, and a Medical Minute Issues Forum (KBTX). Multiple issues forums will also be available covering topics from how to gather a medical family history, heart healthy holiday cooking, fitness and wellness, and much, much more.
If you’re lucky enough to be in the area, be certain to take advantage of this unique exhibit and the accompanying activities. Exhibit and activity details are available at: http://bushlibrary.tamu.edu/exhibits/2010-red_dress/
Sources:
First Ladies Red Dress Collection: The Heart Truth - First Ladies, National Heart Lung & Blood Institute,
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/educational/hearttruth/events/first-ladies-collection.htm
The Heart Truth’s Red Dress Collection and First Ladies Red Dress Collection, George Bush Presidential Library and Museum, http://bushlibrary.tamu.edu/exhibits/2010-red_dress/
About the Heart Truth, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/educational/hearttruth/about/index.htm