Jennian Helps Combat Number One Killer Of Women

Jennian Homes is right behind the fight against the single leading cause of death for women in New Zealand – heart disease, with its sponsorship of the Heart Foundation’s Go Red for Women campaign.

Go Red for Women is an international campaign aimed at boosting awareness of heart disease in women, and raising vital funds for heart research and cardiac care. Although it is largely preventable, here in New Zealand on average seven women die from heart disease every day.

Jennian Homes Director Richard Carver says Jennian’s sponsorship of Go Red for Women aligns well with the organisation’s commitment to building healthy homes for New Zealanders.

“At Jennian we believe home is where the heart is, and we’ll be working with our franchises up and down the country to bring the Go Red for Women message to every New Zealand woman,” says Mr Carver.

He says Jennian is supporting the inaugural annual Go Red for Women cocktail event on September 25 and that planned activity includes Go Red for Women breakfasts to be held throughout New Zealand during 2009.

“Go Red for Women is a fantastic campaign that Jennian is really proud to be supporting as part of our commitment to healthy homes and community wellbeing. We hope our sponsorship of the campaign will assist the Heart Foundation in raising awareness of the threat of heart disease for women in New Zealand and as a result will save lives.”

Heart Foundation Executive Director, Tony Duncan, says heart disease is a real concern for New Zealand women.

“We hope Go Red for Women will make women aware of the issue and take action to reduce their future risk. Jennian’s commitment to the campaign will go a long way in helping us to achieve this,” Mr Duncan says.

It is great to have Jennian, who will soon be our partner in the Heart Foundation Lottery, on board for this important campaign, says Mr Duncan.

Former New Zealand Prime Minister, Jenny Shipley, is the Heart Foundation’s Go Red for Women Patron. Like many thousands of New Zealand women, Jenny Shipley’s life has been affected by heart disease. Her father died from heart disease at the age of 52, and she herself suffered a heart attack in 2000, which she was fortunate to fully recover from.

“The experience was an enormous wake up call and reminded me again that it was my responsibility to try and mitigate the risks, particularly the inherited risks that I face in terms of heart disease,” says Jenny Shipley.

“I certainly did make some life changes at the time that have assisted me to maintain good health since that experience in 2000.”

Jenny Shipley says she was honoured to be invited to be the patron of Go Red for Women in New Zealand, and wants to use the opportunity to promote the importance of women taking responsibility for having heart checks, pursuing a healthy lifestyle and looking after their own hearts and wellbeing.

“We New Zealand women need to look after ourselves, we need to recognise the signs of heart disease, we need to insist that when we report symptoms we are taken seriously, and we need to ensure that we get equitable treatment along with our male colleagues if we are confronted with the disease.”

The Go Red for Women campaign launches this Thursday with a cocktail function at the Auckland Museum.

For further information visit www.goredforwomen.org.nz