A fundraising appeal by the Heart Research Institute (HRI) has won Silver in the Golden Target Awards, run by the Public Relations Institute of Australia (PRIA).
Help prevent heart attack was HRI's end of tax year appeal featuring Professor Roland Stocker and his Arterial Inflammation and Redox Biology team. The team are working to create a world-first diagnostic test to help identify and potentially treat people who are at a high risk of heart attack due to the presence of unstable plaque. The 'early-warning' system not only detects when someone is at higher risk of a heart attack, but also highlights physically the area where the unstable plaque is present.
The campaign featured athlete and father Matt, who at just 40 experienced a severe heart attack and was rushed to hospital for life-saving emergency surgery.
HRI won Silver in the Community Relations and Engagement category, which reviewed HRI's communications strategy, execution, results and impact.
"So much happens behind the laboratories to ensure the vital cardiovascular research continues. This award perfectly highlights the collaborative skill-set we have in marketing, communications and fundraising to deliver a pipeline of funds the scientists can rely on," said Hester Stuart, Head of Brand, Communications & Digital at HRI.
"I am always humbled, as over 70 per cent of HRI's income is from general members of the public who want to improve medical treatments for others, and it's this promise that drives not just our scientists, but everyone in the operations team."
Cardiovascular disease, which includes heart attack, stroke, congenital heart disease, atrial fibrillation, peripheral artery disease and preeclampsia, is the number one killer in Australia and the world, and unfortunately, 90 per cent of Australians have at least one risk factor for cardiovascular disease. HRI's mission is to reduce the number of people dying and suffering from this disease.
Header image L-R: HRI team members Siobhan Hanbury-Aggs, Hester Stuart and Betty Loi at the PRIA Golden Target Awards
