Mexican Mega Star Partners with Cheerios to search for 'Angeles' and to Raise Awareness of the Risk of Heart Disease in Women

Minneapolis, MN--(HISPANIC PR WIRE - PRNewswire)--January 31, 2007--America’s favorite breakfast cereal has a new angel; Mexican actress Kate del Castillo. The three-year grant program enters its second year hand-in-hand with the mega-star who will support the nationwide search for five Cheerios(R) Angel de mi Corazón (Heart Angel) grant recipients across the country. As part of General Mills’ Cheerios Circle of Helping Hearts program(R), Cheerios will award five ángeles with $5,000 grants to fund activities that fight heart disease and raise cholesterol awareness.

“At General Mills we are committed to heart health and prevention. We expect Angel de mi Corazón to be as successful as last year, through which various communities in Illinois, California, Texas and Arizona directly benefitted from the grants”, said Ricardo Fernández, Cheerios Marketing Manager. “We are thrilled to have Kate as the new ‘Angel’ of this program and we are confident that she will be a great inspiration for people across the country to nominate their Angeles and to participate in generating awareness.”

The recently designated “Best Actress of 2007” by People en Español shares her enthusiasm. “I am incredibly honored to help declare war on heart disease and cholesterol problems. Hispanic women are one of the groups most vulnerable to heart disease and I hope I can make a difference by motivating people to participate in ‘Angel de mi Corazón’”, says Kate.

Who are the “Angeles”?

Cheerios Angeles are those who have touched lives affected by heart disease in some way. Nominees can demonstrate a commitment to combating heart disease and its risk factors through:

-- their genuine heartfelt caring
-- their commitment and length of service
-- the unique nature of their service
-- the number of people whose lives have been affected

Individuals or organizations can nominate their “Angel de mi Corazón”; an individual or an organization whose work and spirit focuses on helping people with heart disease and who strive for better heart health. Nominations can be submitted beginning February 1st, 2008 by completing a simple entry form online at http://www.cheeriosangel.com, by sending an entry-form to PO Box 72916, Greenfield, MN 55572 or by calling toll-free at 1-866-644-7713; self-nominations are accepted as well.

Entries should include a brief description of how the person or organization you nominate invested their time, talent, and spirit in helping those who suffer from heart disease or its risk factors in their community. Entries may be submitted in English or Spanish and will be accepted until March 14, 2008.

For more information on how to nominate your Cheerios Angel de mi Corazón, or to find out more about Cheerios and heart health, consumers can call 1-800-932-2257 or visit http://www.cheeriosangel.com.

Cheerios and the battle for a healthy heart

Angel de mi Corazón is part of Cheerios Circle of Helping Hearts(R) and was created to help raise awareness and provide education about the risk of heart disease and the importance of cholesterol screenings, especially among women, who are less likely to know their cholesterol number(1). Awareness is especially important in the Hispanic community who tends to suffer disproportionately. According to a recent survey, more than one-third (39%) of Hispanics have “borderline high" or "high" cholesterol.(2) Additionally, Hispanics were least likely to be screened for cholesterol.(3)

To address these issues, Cheerios(R) and 8th Continent(R), partnered together and will donate up to $300,000 to WomenHeart, the nation’s only patient advocacy organization serving women with heart disease, to provide free cholesterol screenings women.

Also, starting in February 2008, as part of the Circle of Helping Hearts, Cheerios will donate $1 to WomenHeart for every code entered by consumers at http://www.cheerioshelpinghearts.com by February 30, 2008 and 8th Continent will donate 50 cents for every code entered at http://www.8thcontinent.com, up to a total of $300,000. Consumers can find these codes inside specially marked boxes of Cheerios cereal and on 8th Continent bottles.

Cheerios will donate an additional $200,000 to WomenHeart to help raise awareness and provide education about the risk of heart disease in women. This donation, combined with the donations based on code entries, bring the total potential donation to WomenHeart to a half million dollars.

About General Mills

General Mills, with annual net sales of $12.5 billion, is a leading global manufacturer and marketer of consumer foods products. Based in Minneapolis, Minn., General Mills’ mission is to innovate to make people’s lives healthier, easier and richer around the world. Its global brand portfolio includes Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Green Giant, Häagen-Dazs, Old El Paso and more. It also has more than 100 U.S. consumer brands, more than 30 of which generate annual retail sales in excess of $100 million. General Mills also is a leading supplier of baking and other food products to the foodservice and commercial baking industries.

About Cheerios(R) Angel de mi Corazón

The Cheerios Angel de mi Corazón search is designed to help raise awareness of heart disease among Latinos and honor individual “Angeles” who have invested their time, talent, and spirit in helping those suffering from heart disease in their community. Cheerios Circle of Helping Hearts(TM) donates financial grants to charities and community-based organization across the country. This is the second of a three year commitment by Cheerios.

1. Society for Women’s Health, http://www.womenshealthresearch.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=6935
2. National Alliance for Hispanic Heal http://www.hispanichealth.org
3. Center for Disease Control http://www.cdc.gov/mmwR/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5435a2.htm

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