Make a splash for children with broken hearts

Make a splash for children with broken hearts Heart Stopper Challenge

Children’s charity @Heart is calling for hearty souls to join Labour MPs Jacinda Ardern, Louisa Wall, Carol Beaumont and Labour candidate for Epsom electorate Michael Wood for a five-minute burst of heart stopping action to help Kiwi kids with a heart condition.

The Labour of Love team will immerse their bodies in a tub filled with icy slush at the Heart Stopper Challenge Auckland event on 30th May.

The inspiration behind the Heart Stopper plunge into an icy pool is the 450 open-heart surgeries that are performed annually on children in New Zealand – some of these babies in their first days of life. Surgeons sometimes fill the chest cavity with an icy slush to slow the metabolism during surgery to allow a longer window of operating time.

Since its inception in 2001, the Heart Stopper Challenge has seen thousands of supporters from all walks of life take the plunge in support of heart kids and their families. It is a fun, chilly experience but it gives participants a warm fuzzy feeling inside knowing that their act of courage will help @Heart to support Kiwi kids born with a heart defect.

The Heart Stopper Challenge is also a great team-building activity for corporate supporters to engage in with their staff members. Participants come up with a team theme and dress in costume for their plunge.

Kerry McLeod, Fundraising and Marketing Manager of @Heart said, “There is a lot of laughter, camaraderie and fun in the process. After your plunge you can reward yourself with a soak in the onsite hot spa and a celebration with your supporters and team mates.”

The Heart Stopper Challenge Auckland event will kick off at 4pm at Karanga Plaza, Wynyard Quarter. It is made possible with the fantastic support from Waterfront Auckland, More FM and Party Spa, sponsors of the Heart Stopper Challenge Auckland event.

Teams use an online fundraising site to raise funds in advance of their plunge. Funds raised from the Heart Stopper Challenge Auckland event are used to support heart kids and their families staying on the National Paediatric Cardiac Ward and at home, through @Heart’s Family Support Programme in conjunction with its nationwide network of branches.

Visit http://www.heartstopper.org.nz/event/HeartStopperChallengeAuckland2014 to register a team, set up your online fundraising page or sponsor your favourite plunger.
‘Like’ us at www.facebook.com/heartstopperchallenge to keep up with photos and information from the events.

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