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SHOW OF HEARTS After a year hiatus, Heart and Stroke Foundation’s Heart of Gold Gala returned bigger, better and louder. The 13th staging literally started with a bang — leaving many to cover their ears and turn down their hearing aids — when members of the Sardis Secondary Drum Line got things started. The school band led 500 guests into the JW Marriott Parq Vancouver Ballroom for the New Orlean’s themed benefit dinner in support of women’s heart and brain health.
The Goldcorp-sponsored party drummed up an equally impressive $850,000. Leading the spectacular evening of entertainment, dancing and fundraising was first time gala chair Jen Rainnie. She and a team of 24 dedicated committee members welcomed business and community leaders, philanthropists, and health care supporters. Among the many luminaries in attendance was Joannie Rochette, bronze medallist at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
A Heart and Stroke ambassador, the Canadian figure skater shared with guests the loss of her mom Therese. She passed away from a massive heart attack just two days before Rochette’s podium performance. She had been fighting the effects of heart disease — even writing the symptoms she was experiencing on a piece of paper, but never sharing it with anyone, Rochette said. Still wondering why her mom didn’t seek help — perhaps she didn’t want her health to be a distraction, Rochette said — the medallist has teamed up with the Heart and Stroke Foundation to try to prevent heart disease from taking the lives of other women. Heart disease claims the lives of 31,000 women in Canada each year, said CEO Adrienne Baker.
“The results tonight will enable us to empower women to protect their heart and brain health; encourage and invest in research for and about women; increase support for the next generation of female scientists; ensure women receive the best available treatment and support patients, caregivers and families,” Baker said.