Sydney Swans join with the Heart Foundation to give Aussie hearts a sporting chance

The Sydney Swans are teaming up with the Heart Foundation to help raise awareness and funds to fight heart disease.

Each year, more Australians die from heart disease than any other single cause. It tears more families apart than any other medical condition. One in 4 Australians die from cardiovascular disease, which means that tens of thousands of Australians have lost a loved one from a heart attack or a stroke.

This is an average of one death every 29 minutes – or one in each AFL quarter.

To help save Australian hearts and keep Aussie families together, the Sydney Swans will support key Heart Foundation initiatives throughout the 2021 AFL season and beyond.

This includes Jump Rope for Heart, one of the Heart Foundation’s longest running and most loved programs. More than 10 million Australian children have taken part over the last 38 years, raising more than $104 million for the Heart Foundation. The program encourages kids to have a positive attitude towards exercise, healthy eating and heart health while raising vital funds that help save lives.

​Swans’ players and staff will also get behind the Heart Foundation’s annual 24-hour fundraising challenge, Give with Heart Day, which this year will take place on Wednesday 15 September. The vital funds raised during this campaign directly support more than 200 life-saving research projects that are funded at any point in time.

“We are thrilled to announce this collaboration with the Sydney Swans, which will raise awareness of the Heart Foundation’s important work and give more Aussie hearts a sporting chance,” said Heart Foundation interim CEO, Professor Garry Jennings.

“We know the Swans are just as passionate about children’s fitness and health as we are, and we are excited they will be supporting the more than 300,000 students in over 1,000 schools taking part in Jump Rope this year. The kids will be excited too,” Professor Jennings said.

“The Heart Foundation is Australia’s largest non-government funder of world-class research into the causes, prevention and treatment of heart disease. Give with Heart Day helps us continue crucial research that helps to save lives and improves the lives of people affected by heart disease, and we are so grateful to the Swans for the support they will give us promoting this year’s event.”

Sydney Swans CEO Tom Harley said:

“Like the Heart Foundation, the Sydney Swans have a long and proud history, not just on the sporting field, but also in supporting the community. Over the years, heart disease has touched the lives of people at our club.

“Supporting the Heart Foundation across these key initiatives will help to grow awareness of the impact of heart disease on Australian families and the work the Heart Foundation does to prevent it. We look forward to working with the Heart Foundation and joining them on their mission.” 

Photo: Sydney Swans Head Coach John Longmire, with Swans player Errol Gulden. 

Media enquiries

Heart Foundation
Suzanne McKenzie, Media Manager
M: 0434 691 461 E: Suzanne.McKenzie@heartfoundation.org.au

Sydney Swans
Michelle Cooling, Publicity and Social Media Manager
M: 0431 225389 E: coolingm@sydneyswans.com.au

About the Heart Foundation

The Heart Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to fighting the single biggest killer of Australians – heart disease. For more than 60 years, it has led the battle to save lives and improve the heart health of all Australians. Its sights are set on a world where people don’t suffer or die prematurely because of heart disease.

Find out your risk of heart attack or stroke by using our Heart Age Calculator. For heart health information and support, call the Heart Foundation Helpline on 13 11 12. To find out about the Heart Foundation’s research program or to make a donation, visit www.heartfoundation.org.au