The Charity Supplement #3Siemens & The Stroke for Stroke CampaignTHIS January sees the launch of the third annual Stroke for Stoke Campaign, a joint event held by The Stroke Associationand the engineering conglomerate,

Siemens

. The campaignencourages anyone interested to row at least 10K indoor or outdoor in order to raise funds for the Association.

“A stroke is caused by a bleed or clot in the brain that causes brain cells to die.Stroke is the second most common cause of death and the leading cause of severe adult disability in the UK. It kills three times as many women as breast cancer each year and it doesn’t discriminate.”

(Quoted from Siemens ‘About Stroke for Stroke’ page on their website)

The Stroke Association is the only UK charity which dedicates its aims almostentirely to support sufferers and their families and to target completely combatingstrokes in people of all ages. Supporting over 20,000 people in the UK at current, theyoffer emotional support to survivors, families and carers, and provide a helpline which benefits over 25,000 people a year. That’s of over 1.1 million people living with theeffects of stroke. Support is not only offered through allowing people the chance toshare experiences, but also through helping them in rehabilitation back to a normallife. The charity also offer detailed advice, both as awareness to those who know littleof the brain attack, and as resources available to those who are affected by them.There is, for example, very informative advice about the signs of an oncoming stroke,available on their website. In addition, the charity funds several research projects – working towards their aim of combating strokes. The Association has several aims for the future, all of which relate to a massive growth in the charity which will enablethem to offer their support to even more in need of it.

Siemens

has been a partner with the Association for quite some time and many of thecompany’s employees will be rowing for the event. The company are sponsoring theGB rowing team for 2012 and so this partnership strengthens awareness of that.Speaking of that partnership, Andreas Goss, Chief Executive of

Siemens

says that

“it has also shaped our perception of things that we can implement in our employee-building program.“Given the fact that the stroke is such a big killer in the UK, I think it’s an extremelyworthwhile cause.”