The Irish Heart Foundation is inviting volunteers and supporters from Galway to join in a special 25-year Happy Hearts Appeal anniversary celebration kindly supported by local SuperValu stores on April 2 in the Pillo Hotel, Galway. To mark the special occasion, TG4 presenter Mairead Ni Chuaig will launch the Happy Heart celebration in honour of the great volunteering spirit of the people of Galway.
Since the Happy Hearts Appeal began in 1990, Galway volunteers have been at the heart of the community for a quarter of a century selling happy hearts and raising vital donations to prevent the development of heart disease and stroke among children and adults in Galway and nationwide.
Irish Heart Foundation regional fundraising manager for Galway Toni Bourke said: “This year we are delighted to have SuperValu on board as a partner. SuperValu believe in local and the support of their network of 223 stores at the heart of communities across Ireland will help us to communicate the importance of this campaign.
“Volunteering is a special and rewarding experience and the people of Galway have always been extremely generous in giving up their time and supporting our charity. We encourage as many of our supporters or indeed new supporters, to come along and join us for this special 25-year celebration. Thanks to all of this support in the last 25 years, the work of the Irish Heart Foundation has played a vital role in the reduction of deaths from heart disease and stroke which have dramatically fallen by more than 40 per cent since 1990.”
But despite the positive impact, according to the Irish Heart Foundation, heart disease remains the number one cause of death in the country and there is hardly a family in Ireland untouched by this disease.
Ms Bourke continued: “Right now 5,000 families in Ireland each year have to endure the sudden loss of a loved one to cardiac arrest when their hearts stop beating. More than 80 of these lives lost are young adults, teens and babies. For this 25th Happy Hearts Appeal, kindly supported by Supervalu, we are calling for volunteers to join us so we can deliver an urgent national CPR awareness campaign to save lives from sudden cardiac arrest.”
The 25th Happy Hearts Appeal celebration will take place in the Galway Pillo Hotel on April 2 from 1.30pm. All who attend will receive an exclusive live demonstration of CPR by top Irish Heart Foundation resuscitation experts so they are equipped to react in an emergency when a heart suddenly stops beating.
Register on www.happyhearts.ie or call Toni Bourke on 086-3806941 or call Irish Heart Foundation head office on 01-6685001.
