This month we are proud to launch the public phase of the ACC's Campaign for the Future – a Mission-based philanthropic effort to empower future cardiovascular leaders, researchers and clinicians; build a diverse and inclusive profession; and foster innovation and grow transformational global programs aimed at optimizing patient care and improving outcomes.

The Campaign for the Future is an important opportunity for ACC members worldwide to not only help shape the future of our profession, but also build on the legacy of those cardiovascular giants who have come before.

I, along with ACC leadership and the entire Campaign for the Future leadership team, are excited by the opportunities inherent in the Campaign to move us closer to our Mission and Vision of a world where innovation and knowledge optimize cardiovascular care and outcomes.

Specifically, the Campaign will support efforts to:

• Build a strong core of diverse leaders in both the College and the profession by expanding leadership development programs for women and underrepresented minorities, working together with the Association of Black Cardiologists.
• Grow opportunities for FITs and Early Career members to gain skills in leadership and mentoring.
• Create programs designed to identify and engage the next generation of cardiovascular clinicians starting as early as middle school and high school.
• Improve global outcomes in heart attack patients.
• Educate front-line health care workers in low- to middle-income countries on best practices for preventing and treating noncommunicable disease (NCDs), including heart disease.
• Pilot initiatives focused on health literacy, remote monitoring and telemedicine, and artificial intelligence.

ACC Founder Franz Groedel, MD, MACC, said: "We will meet the future not merely by dreams but by concerned action and inextinguishable enthusiasm."

Helping develop the next generation of leaders and helping cardiovascular patients around the world live the best lives possible is at the core of the College's Mission to transform cardiovascular care and improve heart health.

It is my belief and my hope that the Campaign for the Future will move us forward in achieving this important Mission with concerned action and inextinguishable enthusiasm.

Winston Churchill said: "This is not the end, this is not even the beginning of the end, this is just perhaps the end of the beginning." We have come a long way since we started the quiet phase of the Campaign last year. I have been awed by the generous and transformational gifts we have received from so many ACC members already.

I look forward to working together and building on the "concerned actions" of Groedel and so many others to ensure a bright future for the profession and the patients we serve.

Leave your legacy at ACC.org/Future.

Keywords: ACC Publications, Cardiology Magazine

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