Dear editor,

On behalf of the millions of people whose lives will be saved this year due to ground-breaking research, advocacy and education funded through Heart Month donations, I want to thank everyone who is helping to Make Health Last.

Heart Month is the Heart and Stroke Foundation's key opportunity to reach millions of Canadians in February, and alert them to the risks of heart disease and stroke. Today, heart disease and stroke take one life every seven minutes, and 90 per cent of Canadians have at least one risk factor.

Hundreds of thousands of people across the country, including many here in our community, go door-to-door canvassing or collect donations online to raise funds for the Heart and Stroke Foundation.  If you have missed your canvasser, or if a canvasser has not called on you yet, you can still donate at www.heartandstroke.ca, or by calling 1-888-473-4636.

Many of you help out every year and some are participating as a Heart Month volunteer for the first time – and each of you has your own special reason. In the end, we all have the same wish for our future: a future without heart disease and stroke.

So, thank you from the bottom of my heart to the middle of the hearts of everyone who canvasses, volunteers and donates this February. Because of your support, we will help Canadians add healthy years to their lives.

Yours truly,

Linda Thauberger-Smith

Heart and Stroke Foundation

Community Fundraising Specialist

Southern Saskatchewan