It's an effort to raise important funding to continue the fight against heart disease and stroke, and your participation is encouraged for the American Heart Association's Heart Walk Saturday morning at Onondaga Community College. Our Brad Vivacqua is in the newsroom with more.

LIVERPOOL, N.Y. -- About 3,000 people are expected at OCC to participate in either the non-competitive walk, the kids' fun run or the 5K run Saturday morning.

Many of the registered entrants are on teams made up of friends, families, or corporate employees.

There's still time to register for a donation of $25 and money raised will be used toward live-saving research and education programs.

Registration will begin at 8 a.m. Saturday inside the Gordon Student Center, which will also be the site of a health expo. You'll also find plenty of screenings, demonstrations and health resources available.

AHA board member Don Morgan said, "It's a way of giving back and a way of making people aware of the problems that are out there with heart disease and what they need to do about it, so it's a really, really great event."

Again, you can register beginning at 8 a.m. Saturday in the Gordon Student Center on the OCC campus.

The kids' fun run will begin at 9 a.m. with the opening ceremonies set for 9:30 a.m. The the 5K run will be proceeded by the 5K walk at 10 a.m. Even if you don't plan on participating, you're encouraged to go and cheer on all the participants.

For more information on the Heart Run and Walk, visit www.syracuseheartwalk.org.