Rebecca and Andy's Fundraising Page

We're really looking forward to our own event of getting hitched in March 2012. Your best wishes and hopefully the pleasure of your company on our special day will be the most special gift of all to us.

Some people have asked us what we may like as a wedding gift - we really don't expect anything further and our little house is already full of everything we need. But if you feel you must give something we would be very happy if you would like to make a donation on our behalf to the Heart Foundation.

Hearts are often a popular symbol of love and weddings, but we've chosen the Heart Foundation as a way of remembering Andy's Dad Keith, as well as other people we've known and loved.

Each day 16 New Zealanders die as a result of coronary heart disease. That's one person every 90 minutes. And many of these deaths are premature and preventable.

Cardiovascular disease (heart, stroke & blood vessel disease) is the single leading cause of death in New Zealand. It causes 40 percent of all deaths annually in our country - making it more deadly than all forms of cancer.

The nature of who is affected by it is changing. New research shows that young adults in their 20s and 30s are being admitted to hospital for heart attacks more than ever before, and that this age group is dying at a faster rate than people of the same age in previous generations. Much of this change is due to unhealthy lifestyles - poor eating habits, lack of physical activity and being a smoker. But the good news is that many risk factors for heart disease are preventable, if people make healthy lifestyle choices.

So we've signed up as a Heart Racer to raise money to support the Heart Foundation. We're not running in a race like many others who are fundraising for the Heart Foundation (think of ours as more of a 'long distance' or 'endurance' event). But by donating through our webpage you will be helping the Heart Foundation continue its vital work in research, cardiac rehabilitation, education programmes and resources - and that to us is a very special gift that will make us happy :-)

Please help us as we join the race to beat heart disease by selecting the "Make a donation" button below. It's simple, fast and secure and the money goes directly to the Heart Foundation's bank account. If you live in New Zealand your donation is tax deductible and a receipt will be issued.

Many thanks for your support and we're looking forward to hopefully seeing you in March!

Love Rebecca & Andy xx