Students at Marymount Academy launched the official kick off to their 2010 Heart and Stroke Campaign on February 3, 2010. The theme for the school’s campaign is “Strokes for Stroke” as the main fundraiser will involve the girls paying for a dress-down day and will be going to the Laurentian University swimming pool to enjoy an Olympic themed pool party. This theme was chosen for several reasons. Firstly, the girls wanted to promote exercise and a healthy lifestyle and swimming fits the bill. Secondly, they wanted to tie the event to the Olympics so the pool party will include several Olympic themed games and events with the several prizes to be won. On hand for the launch were several community partners including Mayor John Rodriquez and Police Chief Frank Elsner. Mayor Rodriquez spoke to the girls about the importance of community involvement and physical fitness. Rodriquez said that he was always delighted to visit Marymount as it is a school of heart and spirit. As February is Heart month, he stressed the importance of giving from the heart to support this mementous campaign and their involvement “says a lot about who you are as a individual, as a school and as citizens of Sudbury.” Chief Elsner also spoke to the girls about how he his family has been personally affected by heart disease and stroke and stressed that one of the main initiatives of the Greater Sudbury Police Service was getting involved with youth initiatives. Elner told the girls that he loved visiting Marymount because it is the school with the most spirit and he knows that with the students getting involved in this campaign, it shows that “our future is in good hands.”
Several other business were on hand as they have already begun to donate to the campaign. Lise Callahan, a teacher from Marymount who organized this event spoke to the girls about the importance of what they were undertaking. “We need to make the community aware that this is a problem for people of all ages. It does not just affect older adults, in fact, heart disease and stroke causes one in every three deaths in Canada every year.” The students will also be raising funds through raffles and other school events to support this significant campaign