While the young sailors on board Team Alvimedica are racing around the world in the Volvo Ocean Race, they are leaving in their wake significant donations to a children's heart health charity at each of the 10 stopover ports of this challenging global competition. The Team and its owner, medical devices company Alvimedica, today unveiled an ambitious World Heart Health Charity Tour, a global initiative to raise funds and awareness for heart health.
In the United States, February is designated as American Heart Month providing the ideal timing for Newport's home team to formalize the global initiative.
The team raises the funds through an online auction on the team's website at www.teamalvimedica.com/auction where bids can be made on two separate once-in-a lifetime experiences on board with Team Alvimedica at each of the race's ten stopover ports.
The team has raised close to $40,000 since the start of the global race in Alicante, Spain, and at the three following stopovers in South Africa, the United Arab Emirates and China. Watch this World Heart Health Charity Tour video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbjW0xkVKbw
Today the team is announcing the complete roster of charity recipients including the charity partners in the upcoming New Zealand stopover and the team's homeport of Newport, Rhode Island, the race's only USA stopover May 5-17.
As part of Alvimedica's commitment and care in the field of cardiology, the program was launched with the objective to help raise heart health awareness and support local pediatric cardiac health charities around the world.
"This program is a win-win for our sailing fans who can access an amazing experience with our team while benefiting a heart health charity at the same time," said Dr. Cem Bozkurt, CEO of Alvimedica, the global maker of minimally-invasive medical devices.
The charity partners for the upcoming race stopovers were confirmed today with more details to be announced closer to the stopover port associated with each of the following charities:
- Heart Kids and Starship Foundation, New Zealand
- AVISA, Itajai, Brazil
- Lifespan of Providence, Rhode Island, USA
- Associacao Coragem (Courage Association), Lisbon, Portugal
- Mecenat-cardiaque.org, Lorient, France
- Hjart-Lungfonden.se, Stockholm, Sweden
The team's young American skipper Charlie Enright, 30, of Bristol, RI, has visited with children recovering from heart disease at each stop of the race to date: "Team Alvimedica gives us an opportunity to touch a number of local communities and it's great for us to be able to give back everywhere we go."
Charities supported by Team Alvimedica since the race started:
- Menudos Corazones Foundation, Spain
- Paediatric Cardiac Society of South Africa
- Zayed Giving Initiative, Abu Dhabi, UAE
- Chinese Agape Foundation, 501 (c)(3), USA
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