UNISONg singing for and meeting Australian musician Marcia Hines in Wagga Wagga during her concert tour in 2023. Photo: Supplied.
UNISONg invites everyone to a night of live performance to raise awareness about women’s cardiovascular health.
UNISONg Wagga Women’s Community Choir and Wagga Women’s Health Centre are co-hosting the Strong Heart Fundraiser at the Riverina Conservatorium of Music on Saturday (29 June) at 5:30 pm.
The evening will focus on cardiovascular health in women through song and a discussion about healthy hearts.
Twenty women a day die from coronary disease in Australia and are less likely to be given CPR in a public space, putting them at greater risk of dying from cardiac arrest when out and about.
One of the UNISONg founders, Annabel Bowcher, said the choir decided to give back to the Wagga Women’s Health Centre for supporting the group for the past three years.
“We asked if a defibrillator was on their wish list and an item that the community would benefit from, and they said ‘Yes’,” Annabel said.
“We are a ‘come when you can and perform if you would like to’ choir. Our focus isn’t on performance. It’s about wellbeing, health, connection and community.”
Annabel said the evening would focus on awareness and education surrounding cardiovascular health.
“We’re going to sing songs that have a CPR beat between 100 and 120 beats per minute,” Annabel said.
“If you’re doing CPR, that’s the sort of rhythm of beat that you need to do your CPR to – so we’ve been learning songs that have that beat.
“Twenty women die each day from coronary disease in Australia, and we wanted to focus on women’s health … and a lot of those signs of heart issues aren’t necessarily the same as men.”
Annabel said the choir wanted to convey the message about women’s cardiovascular health to the community in a fun way by singing.
“Singing has amazing health benefits, and people often say, ‘I can’t sing’… they’ve been told they can’t sing from an early age, but everyone can sing,” Annabel said.
“We’ve got over 50 people coming to this choir, and our age range is 20 to 90.
“A huge range of amazing women come to our community for so many different reasons. We don’t ask why. We want them to come and enjoy being part of it.”
Wagga Women’s Health Centre Project Manager Penny Stanbury said the women’s choir were tirelessly rehearsing for the fundraiser.
“It’s a wonderful initiative from UNISONg and they have great women involved in the centre,” Penny said.
“The fundraiser is very beneficial to the centre, raising funds for the defibrillator and raising awareness of the importance of women’s cardiac health.
“Let’s raise our voices and engage our minds on an important issue while raising funds for frontline services to improve heart health for women in the Riverina.”
Join UNISONG for a night of live performances, raffles and guest speakers.
Donations can be made on the Wagga Women’s website.
Book your tickets to the Strong Hearts Fundraiser here.
Loading ...
