Rocco's fundraising adventures and achievements

In each of the past three years, Rocco Rossi, CEO of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario, has taken on a major personal fundraising initiative, raising a combined total of more than $1.6 million.

Paddle for Progress
In July 2006, Rocco embarked on a 480 km solo paddle from Toronto to Ottawa. Throughout this 19-day journey, Rocco raised $150,000 for the Centre for Stroke Recovery and had the opportunity to meet stroke survivors on many of his stops along the way.

Ride Yonge, Stay Young
Rocco decided to combine his 2007 fundraising initiative with the 20th anniversary of the Becel Heart&Stroke Ride for Heart. Departing on May 8, 2007, Rocco cycled the 1,900 km length of Yonge Street from Rainy River to Toronto. This initiative raised more than $375,000 for the Heart&Stroke Chase McEachern Tribute Fund and created awareness for much needed Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs).

Heart&Stroke 7 Summits and Rocco's Everest Challenge
In the mountain climbing world, the ultimate feat is conquering the 7 Summits – the tallest peaks of the seven continents. In 2008, Rocco led the Heart&Stroke 7 Summits™ Challenge in which participants climbed the stairs of each of the 7 tallest buildings in Toronto in one day. The twist was that Rocco himself climbed each of the 7 towers often enough over the course of a weekend such that his total climb equaled the height of Mt. Everest – The Everest Challenge. This required him to climb all 7 towers 5 times each and then 2 of them once more each to achieve a total height of 29,028 feet. This event raised $1.1 million for lifesaving AEDs.