Love Your Heart Event

Love Your Heart Event at St Andrew’s Community Centre

On Wednesday, February 14th, 2024, Smart D8 supported the Love Your Heart event at St Andrew’s Community Centre from 10 am until 2 pm.

This event was also supported by Dublin City Council, Dublin South City Partnership, Rialto Development Association, Rialto Primary Care Centre, and the Dublin 8 Community Health Project based in F2 Centre.

Love Your Heart – Love Your Health – Love Yourself

Since its inception in 2017, Love Your Heart has blossomed into a free annual event at St. Andrew’s Community Centre, aiming to inspire individuals to prioritize their health, all while harnessing the spirit of Valentine’s Day.

At the core of Love Your Heart is the mission to foster community health using holistic care. Every year the event offers attendees a day filled with opportunities for connection and self-care, bringing people together in a community setting to promote healthy living choices.

Variety of Health-Focused Activities To Celebrate Health

Throughout the day, a diverse range of activities aimed at promoting community health and wellbeing were offered:

  • Blood Pressure Checks:  the Irish Heart Foundation’s mobile unit allowed attendees to monitor their blood pressure, promoting awareness and proactive management of cardiovascular health.
  • Informational Stands: cardiovascular health and quitting smoking (HSE’s stand), innovative solutions for health and wellbeing challenges (Smart D8’s stand), community health initiatives in Dublin 8 (Fatima Groups United’s stand and St Andrew’s stand).
  • Healthy Smoothie Demonstrations: attendees learned how to create nutritious and delicious smoothies, empowering individuals to make healthier dietary choices.
  • Cardiac Arrest Response Demonstrations: attendees gained essential life-saving skills with demonstrations on how to respond to cardiac arrest situations and effectively use a defibrillator.
  • Holistic Therapies: attendees experienced relaxation and rejuvenation with a variety of complementary holistic therapies, including Indian Head Massage, Reiki, Reflexology, Back Massage, Acupuncture, and more.
  • Nail Painting and Tarot Readings: attendees explored spiritual connections through tarot readings and pampered themselves through nail painting sessions.
  • Café Setting with Light Refreshments: attendees enjoyed light refreshments in a cozy café atmosphere, promoting social interaction and companionship on a day that may feel isolating to some.

Growing Community Engagement

By offering these diverse activities, the event aimed to create an inclusive and supportive environment where individuals could prioritize their health and connect with their community.

Love Your Heart has seen steady growth in attendance year after year, with over 70 attendees recorded this year.

Beyond being a one-time event, Love Your Heart serves as a catalyst for ongoing community connection and support. Through word-of-mouth communication and networking opportunities, the event fosters a culture of mutual care and wellbeing.

In essence, Love Your Heart offers the community a chance to come together, celebrate wellness, and reaffirm the bonds of camaraderie and self-love using Valentine’s Day as an inspiration to reconnect with oneself and others.