Syracuse Heart Walk raises $400,000, teaches lifesaving CPR skills

Nearly 2,000 people filled SRC Arena in Syracuse and raised more than $400,000, giving the Syracuse Heart Walk the feel of a mass public-health drill as much as a fundraiser.

The April 12 gathering brought together heart disease and stroke survivors, families, local businesses and community members at 4585 West Seneca Turnpike. Organizers used the day to teach Hands-Only CPR, celebrate survivors and press a message aimed squarely at Onondaga County, know what to do in the first minutes of a cardiac emergency.

That urgency matters. The American Heart Association says 9 out of 10 people who suffer cardiac arrest outside a hospital die, and in most of those cases bystander CPR was not performed. Its Syracuse materials also cite survey data showing 61% of people are unsure what to do during a cardiac emergency, even though the association says CPR can double or even triple survival chances when someone collapses.

Volunteer chair Steve Gorczynski stood at the center of that message. After surviving a heart attack in 2023, Gorczynski became a Red Cap ambassador for the American Heart Association and helped lead the walk as a reminder that training ordinary residents can change outcomes at home, at work or in a public place. The event framed that lesson around a broader goal the association repeats across its Heart Walk campaign: one person in every household should feel confident and prepared to perform CPR.

The fundraising total also underscored the region’s support for local heart-health work. Before walkers arrived, the association had listed a goal of $500,000 and reported $128,411.02 in progress for the 2026 Syracuse Heart Walk. The money supports heart-health education and lifesaving efforts, part of the association’s wider mission to fight heart disease and stroke, the nation’s No. 1 and No. 5 killers.

Syracuse has shown that kind of turnout before. A 2023 Heart Challenge at the same venue drew about 2,000 walkers and had raised nearly $400,000, and this year’s crowd carried that tradition forward with a bigger fundraising total and a stronger emphasis on CPR readiness. For residents who want to take the next step, the walk’s message was clear: learn CPR, look for future American Heart Association events and follow local efforts built around prevention, survivor support and emergency response.