The British Heart Foundation praises dedicated efforts of community fundraising in Wiltshire and Bath and urges people to continue their support. New figures released today by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) show residents in Wiltshire and Bath raised an incredible £217,045 for the charity’s life saving research last year by fundraising in their community.
People across Wiltshire and Bath have shown they’re all heart, undertaking countless fundraising activities – from the weird to the wonderful – in their unstoppable pursuit to raise urgently needed funds for the BHF’s life saving research, helping fund vital breakthroughs in the fight against heart and circulatory disease. This includes: around £14,700 raised through partnerships with local business;  Around £4,800 raised through local clubs and associations; more than £6,000 raised through local school fundraising and more than £54,000 raised by fundraisers holding their own event for the BHF’s Do Your Own Thing campaign.
Swindon resident Joan Webb, in particular, went above and beyond in her efforts to raise funds last year in her role as in memoriam secretary within the Swindon BHF fundraising volunteer group. Her role requires Joan to liaise with local funeral directors and she thanks families who have chosen to make donations to the BHF in lieu of flowers.
Jane Turner, Wiltshire and Bath fundraising manager at the BHF, said: “As the nation’s heart charity we rely entirely on the enormous generosity of our supporters to continue our life saving work. To raise such an incredible amount in 12 months is extraordinary. Pennies really do amount to pounds and so I’d like to personally thank every single person for their support. Your donations are vital to our research, and will help us to save more lives.”
Heart and circulatory disease kills one person every three minutes in the UK. Thanks to the generosity of communities across the UK the BHF is funding research that has been, and is today, central to discovering new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat heart and circulatory disease. By 2020 the BHF will have funded half a billion pounds of life saving research, to help accelerate the fight against these devastating conditions which claim the lives of nearly 160,000 people in the UK each year.
Get involved in the fight against heart disease and be part of the 2017 fundraising revolution. If you think you might have the right skills to become an in-memoriam secretary and you live in Wiltshire, particularly Marlborough, Westbury or Warminster,  or Malmesbury contact Jane Turner, BHF Fundraising Manager for Wiltshire and Bath, on 07740095714 or turnerj@bhf.org.uk