Rebekah Garrett
A Mother’s Plan for a Healthier Tomorrow
Rebekah’s legacy gift ensures that lifesaving advancements continue for generations.
Some moments change the way you see everything. For Rebekah Garrett, becoming a mother changed her perspective. She had always believed in being prepared—first as a lifeguard trained in CPR, then as someone passionate about heart health awareness. But with a child depending on her, she realized there was another kind of preparation she needed to take: securing her family’s future.
Now, being prepared wasn’t just about reacting to emergencies, it was about planning ahead and being ready for whatever might come. That’s what led her to create a will using the simple and secure online platform powered by FreeWill. Rebekah wanted the peace of mind that having a solid estate plan offers, knowing that her loved ones would be provided for after she was gone. When creating her will online, she came to the section that asked if she’d like to include a legacy gift to an organization she cared about. Rebekah immediately thought of the American Heart Association. “My husband and I wanted to make sure our son was taken care of,” she says, “but we also saw an opportunity to give back.” Completing the gift commitment portion of the process was simple and took just minutes. “I had no idea how easy it was to include a cause I care about in my will. Once I saw the option, it was a no-brainer.”
Heart disease and stroke had shaped her family’s story long before she was born. She lost her paternal grandmother at a young age and never had the chance to truly know her as she grew up. Her father’s sister also passed away before the age of 60. Both were Black women, and their losses weighed heavily on Rebekah—not just because of the personal void they left, but because they reflected a larger, painful reality about health care disparities. Because of societal and historical inequities, many Black people have disproportionately high blood pressure and risk for cardiovascular disease. “There’s this underlying desire to be closer to them and just feeling a little cheated that I didn't get to establish those relationships. It also plants a little bit of fear about what it may mean for my health,” she reflects. That fear became even more real in January when her father, 74, suffered a stroke.
Rebekah’s stint as a lifeguard taught her early on how critical it is to be trained in lifesaving CPR and to be confident in those moments that matter most. When she became a mom, she revisited that training with new urgency. “I needed to make sure I was up to date and prepared to perform infant CPR, just in case,” she says. She hopes others will do the same, knowing that CPR saves lives every day. Her family’s history with heart disease and stroke further cemented her passion for heart health, especially for women and Black communities, who continue to face higher risks and disparities in care.
She believes that more awareness, research and education can save lives, which is why she makes a point to wear red every year on National Wear Red Day, using it as an opportunity to spark conversations and advocate for change. And now she proudly supports the AHA’s work through her will bequest, becoming a valued member of the Cor Vitae Society’s Paul Dudley White Legacy Circle.
Through her legacy gift, Rebekah is helping fund the research, education and programs that will make a difference for her son, and generations to come. For her, planning for the future isn’t just about her own family. It’s about making sure others don’t feel that same sense of loss, fear or what-if. It’s about creating a world where more people get the chance to live longer, healthier lives.