Door to door canvassing isn’t as effective as it used to be. The Heart and Stroke Foundation is marking it’s annual Heart Month and a team of volunteers will be going around to homes in Grande Prairie. Volunteer numbers are down though and Area Manager Margret Bell says they are hoping businesses might help fill the gap.
“They can take a canvassing kit into their office for the day, for the week or for the whole month. We’d be more than happy to deliver it and pick it up.”
More information can be found online or by contacting the local office.
This year’s campaign is focused on spreading the word about women’s heart health. Bell says the system isn’t made for them and that’s something they are working to change.
“We’re actually finding that women are under-researched, under-diagnosed, under-treated, under-supported and under-aware. So it’s a whole group of things that we’re looking at.”
“We know that two thirds of the heart disease clinical research still focuses on men.” Bell continued, “We really have to work on changing that and getting more of a focus on women’s heart heath research. Women’s hearts are slightly different then men’s.”
Bell says the federal government has pledged $5 million to women’s heart research. Heart Month runs until the end of February.