Heart & Stroke CEO Reaches Goal And Raises $150,000 For Stroke Research

For his summer holidays, Rocco's kayak adventure took him along the shores of Lake Ontario to the Murray Canal and into the Bay of Quinte. He travelled through Kingston and made his way up to Ottawa along the Rideau Waterway.

Minister of Health Promotion Jim Watson, on behalf of Premier and Minister of Research and Innovation Dalton McGuinty, welcomed Rocco Rossi as he concluded his adventure. The welcoming party also included Dr. Antoine Hakim, Scientific Director of the HSFCSR and Sally Brown, CEO of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.

Rocco's Paddle for Progress on Stroke kicked off on June 26, 2006, at Bluffer's Park in Toronto with a special announcement of a $5-million investment from the McGuinty government to the Heart and Stroke Foundation Centre for Stroke Recovery.

"This funding will help ensure the Centre's researchers have access to the world-class infrastructure required to tackle the new frontier in stroke research and to continue making break-through discoveries and implementing treatments," says Dr. Hakim.

At the kick-off, Minister Watson presented Rocco Rossi with a red paddle as a token of good luck on his journey. Nineteen days later, Minister Watson has happily accepted the same red paddle from Rocco on the completion of his journey.

A flotilla made up of the Ottawa Police Dragon Boat, the 2006 Flotilla on the Canal award-winning tug boat "Tug along" and Heart and Stroke Foundation volunteers in canoes provided a colourful escort for Rocco Rossi across Dows Lake to the Pavilion.

In his daily blog, which can be found at www.heartandstroke.ca/rocco, Rocco diarized his thoughts on how stroke affects Canadians, on making this fundraising journey to raise awareness of initiatives such as the Centre for Stroke Recovery, and on his firm resolve to make a greater impact on this horrendous disease. He blogged about the 35,000 volunteers who passionately support the Foundation each year, the moving welcome he received from the groups of stroke survivors in Belleville, Kingston, and Ottawa, and his own family's experience with stroke over two generations.

To learn more about Rocco's Paddle for Progress on Stroke and to make a donation, visit www.heartandstroke.ca/rocco.

About 50,000 strokes occur in Canada every year, leaving many disabled and in need of physical rehabilitation. The researchers at the HSFCSR are collaborating on finding new ways to rehabilitate stroke survivors. The Centre's research is expected to lead to major advances in stroke prevention, treatment and recovery, giving hope and a better quality of life to stroke patients and their families for all Ontarians. The Foundation created the partnership with three of the province's premier health care institutions: the Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest Geriatric Health Care System, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and the Ottawa Health Research Institute. Rocco's Paddle for Progress on Stroke metaphorically links the Centre's Toronto and Ottawa campuses. To learn more about Rocco's Paddle for Progress on Stroke, visit www.heartandstroke.ca/rocco.