The NSW Government has continued its support to the Heartbeat of Football Foundation (the Foundation) to scale its community sport focused heart health initiatives across regional NSW sporting grounds via an additional grant of $150,000.
The “#HeartHealthMatters – Community + Sport” project recognises that sport acts as a catalyst for community development, bringing communities together, building character, drives social change (integration & inclusion), inspires future generations, and promotes a healthy lifestyle.
NSW Sports Minister Steve Kamper said, “The intersection of community, sport, and health plays a vital role in shaping regional communities across NSW. By continuing to invest in and support these areas, regional communities in NSW can thrive and become more resilient and vibrant.”
“Andy and the team at Heartbeat of Football Foundation deliver meaningful outcomes each weekend at sporting grounds and community events. It made sense to extend our support for the next few years, so that they continue making a difference to people, families and sporting communities across NSW,” Mr Kamper added.
The Foundation presenting as both Heartbeat of Football (HOF) & Heartbeat of Sport has now delivered over 12,000 nurse-led preventative heart health screening tests across Australia, as well as provided over 1,500 people with CPR & AED confidence sessions – growing the bystander network willing and able to respond to an emergency cardiac situation.
“This additional support from the NSW Government and Minister Kamper is a game-changer,” HOF Founder Andrew Paschalidis said.
“The fact that we will be able to deliver 85% (34 of the 40) #HeartHealthMatters days across regional NSW is truly transformative. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) disproportionately affects those in regional and rural areas, and underserved groups like First Nations, women, and multicultural communities. Enhanced funding can significantly reduce these disparities and improve overall health outcomes.”
The “#HeartHealthMatters – Community + Sport” project will be delivering heart health checks to as many people as possible for key modifiable risk factors – Blood Pressure, Blood Sugar and Cholesterol at their local sports ground. In addition, it will be holding CPR and AED confidence sessions to build a stronger and more diverse network of bystander confidence as every minute counts when a person is in cardiac arrest – as the chance of survival decreases by 10 percent every minute.
