Menlo School senior raises $20,000 in heart walk Menlo School senior raises $20,000 in heart walk (December 20, 2000)

For the second year in a row, Greg Geibel, a senior at Menlo School, has raised the most donations of any individual walking in the annual Silicon Valley Heart Walk.

Greg raised nearly $20,000 this fall for the walk's sponsor, the American Heart Association. About 150 classmates, friends and family members joined him on the walk to increase awareness about the association's efforts to fight heart disease. Last year, he raised about $4,500 for the cause, according to association representatives.

Greg's volunteer walk comes straight from the heart. As an infant, he suffered a heart attack that left him with slight physical and mental disabilities.

"Fortunately for me," he said, "the AHA had done research with the money it had raised from events like the Silicon Valley Heart Walk, which allowed my survival. Thus, I owe my life not only to my parents, but also to the Heart Association's research and hard work."

At Menlo, Greg encouraged participation by students and teachers in the Heart Walk through announcements at school assemblies and other venues. "The fact that so many people came out to support the cause of the Heart Walk means even more than the money," he said.