Health Promotion Volunteer Opportunities
The Heart and Stroke Foundation (HSF) leads in eliminating heart disease and stroke and
reducing their impact through the advancement of research and its application, the promotion of
healthy living, and advocacy .To achieve this mission, a team of 14 Health Promotion Specialists
(HPS), based in Area Offices across Ontario, engage and support communities in health
promotion and advocacy activities at the local level.
There are four main areas through which we accomplish this goal: Public Affairs, Heart Healthy
Children and Youth, Resuscitation, and Partnerships. Woven throughout these priorities is an
emphasis on Diversity. In particular, HSF has chosen to focus on People of African Descent,
Aboriginal, South Asian, and Chinese communities, due to their tendency toward greater risk of
heart disease and stroke. Volunteers can help us broaden our reach and impact with these
communities by being Diversity Ambassadors.
Public Affairs
Healthy behaviour change is best sustained when it is supported by healthy policies. It’s not
enough to teach people to make healthy choices without also creating or supporting a community
infrastructure that provides equitable access to those choices. As such, HSF invests strongly in
developing advocacy-based strategies to impact health at the policy level.
Volunteers can help us by:
 Being trained in key messages and acting as an Ambassador for our advocacy campaigns
 Locally promoting postcard and e-advocacy campaigns, which are strengthened by
increasing the number of local voices
 Contacting and visiting local politicians to discuss key campaign messages
 Representing HSF in the public policy process
 Providing feedback to HSF (via the Health Promotion Specialist) about new programs and
policies that may help to address local system gaps
 Representing HSF on committees engaged in health advocacy work
Heart Healthy Children and Youth (HHCY)
Childhood obesity has tripled in the last 30 years. This means that today’s children are the first
generation that likely will not outlive their parents due to early onset of chronic diseases like heart
disease and stroke. In Ontario, HSF has pioneered its commitment to reducing childhood obesity
by funding Spark Advocacy Grants. These grants enable community groups to develop advocacy
and policy strategies to increase access to healthy eating and physical activity. Specifically, HSF
supports community groups to identify specific barriers and develop policy-based solutions to
overcome these barriers.
Volunteers can help us by:
 Being a HHCY Ambassador and help raise awareness about the dangers of childhood
obesity and the opportunities through HSF to develop policy solutions
 Supporting their community to pro-actively identify and develop strategies to reduce
barriers to health
 Representing HSF on committees involved in improving population health through policybased strategies to increase physical activity and healthy eating
 Supporting interested community groups with the Spark Advocacy Grant application
process
Health Promotion Volunteer Opportunities
Resuscitation
Heart and Stroke Foundation is committed to making Canada cardiac safe. This means that HSF
is working hard to promote knowledge and confidence in the use of Cardiopulmonary
Resuscitation (CPR) and Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) in public spaces. Historically,
HSF has been a leader in training healthcare professionals in the use of CPR and AEDs to
resuscitate individuals. However, a vast majority of heart-related incidents, such as cardiac
arrest, happen outside of medical facilities. To address this, HSF works with Emergency Medical
Services (EMS) to train lay rescuers because early CPR and early defibrillation can significantly
increase the chance of a person surviving a sudden cardiac arrest. To further increase cardiac
safety, HSF is working with EMS partners to advocate for the placement of AEDs in all public
access spaces, which would allow faster response time by lay rescuers.
Volunteers can help us by:
 Being trained in how to perform CPR and use an AED
 Being a Resuscitation Ambassador and raising awareness about the importance of CPR
and AED training and the role that HSF plays in providing training in the community
 Telling your cardiac arrest survivor story at mass CPR training and other public events
 Representing HSF in partnership with EMS to help coordinate mass CPR/AED training
events
Partnerships
HSF strongly recognizes the value of partnership in creating sustainable change. The Health
Promotion team is actively involved in a number of partnership committees with various
stakeholders that share a common interest in making our communities healthier. Some of these
committees are focused on very specific initiatives, and some target much broader systemic
issues.
Volunteers can help us by:
 Becoming familiar with HSF’s position on specific community issues
 Promoting the mission of HSF through community partnerships
 Participating on a partnership committee as a representative of HSF
 Hosting HSF information booths at community events
 Supporting community partnership committees by connecting them with HSF resources
 Staying informed about community-generated priorities and helping liaise opportunities for
HSF to support the community in advancing local health initiatives
For further information, please contact your local Health
Promotion Specialist:
Beth Collins – Health Promotion Specialist
Peterborough, Kingston, Belleville and Brockville Area
E: bcollins@hsf.on.ca
Ph: 613-384-2871
C: 613-453-9272
THANK YOU for helping us create healthier communities!!
Last Revised: September, 2013