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Posted by on Jul 18, 2014 in 2014, Awareness, CRY screenings, Donations

Partners needed to support heart screenings for young people in Ealing

 

CRY postcard campaign

Tom’s Fund has sponsored free @CRY_UK heart screenings for young people every year since 2009.

In that time more than 1,000 young people have been screened, around 800 of them in and around Ealing. Although the majority will walk away reassured, others will need medical intervention.

It currently costs the Fund £3,500 in sponsorship to host a free screening day for 100 people.

Year on year, friends, family and supporters, generally local people, have supported us with fund-raising and donations.

That effort has enabled Tom’s Fund to raise more than £80,000 since 2008.  It’s on its way to its target of raising £100,000 by November 27, 2014, what would have been the end of Tom’s 21st birthday year.

If there are any Ealing businesses or organisations that would like to partner us and help to support future screenings we’d be glad to hear from you at thetomclabburnfund@gmail.com or via the message form here.

You can read more about Tom’s Fund on this site or on the Tom Clabburn Memorial Fund’s Cardiac Risk in the Young page here.

We have screenings organised for November 2014 and April 2015 in Ealing. We expect that, as usual, they will be oversubscribed.

Nationally, 12 young people a week aged 14-35 die of undiagnosed heart conditions. Tom was one of them. He was 14.

Screening works. It can save lives. Please help if you can.

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Posted by on Feb 2, 2014 in 2014, Awareness, CRY screenings, Helen Barnes

More than 200 students screened as Tom’s Fund goes to the island

Sandown screenings, January 2014

Left-to-right: Sandown Bay Academy students with Claire, Helen and CRY screening manager Tony Hill

More than 200 young people were screened during CRY’s first free heart screenings on the Isle of Wight – thanks in part to Tom’s Fund.

Around 15 of the 210 youngsters screened at the Sandown Bay Academy in Sandown were referred for further tests.

Tom’s Fund and the school shared the cost of the two days on January 28 and 29 and the whole event was organised with the utmost efficiency by Helen Barnes – who is the school’s senior administrator and also Claire’s cousin.

Helen has been fund-raising for CRY and going on the CRY Bridges Walk since Tom’s death.

She said she felt that as a school with an excellent sporting reputation, Sandown would be an ideal venue for a screening event as many of the students take part in physical activity.

Many teenagers looked nervous as they came in but were reassured by CRY’s professional mobile medical team and the word soon spread through the school that there was nothing to be concerned about.

Student Matthew Miselbach, 16, said: “As a keen sportsman I wanted to have the test for peace of mind. I thought it was important to be tested especially as many of the people who die of previously undetected heart problems are usually fit and active. I would encourage as many people as possible to have the test if they get the opportunity.”

CRY Family Screening Manager Tony Hill said: “The Sandown Bay Academy students were very polite, courteous and extremely well behaved. The team were made very welcome and were pleased to have screened so many lovely students.”

Also at the screenings was Andrew Quew, a neighbour of Helen’s, who lost his wife to an undiagnosed heart condition in 2011. He is also fund-raising for CRY and hopes to set up the next set of screenings on the Isle of Wight. We wish him lots of luck in his efforts.

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Posted by on Jan 25, 2014 in 2014, Claire Prosser, CRY screenings, Fund-raising event, Uncategorized

On the road

Helen Barnes

Helen Barnes

Tom’s Fund will be going further afield – and all for a very good cause.

CRY screenings are going to be held for the first time on the Isle of Wight and they will part-funded by Tom’s Fund.

The driving force behind the idea is Claire’s cousin, Helen Barnes, who lives in Ryde. She has been fund-raising for Tom’s Fund ever since Tom died, selling books at the school where she works, the Sandown Bay Academy, and coming on the Bridges Walk.

She suggested running screenings at the school for its students and so the school are funding a day and we are funding the other. Some 200 young people will be screened at the Academy on Jan 28-29.

We will also be holding our usual screenings in Ealing later this year.

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Posted by on Nov 11, 2013 in 2013, Awareness, CRY screenings

Taking your child to a CRY heart screening

CRY Ealing screening poster, November 2013

The thought of taking someone to a heart screening can be daunting. Here, journalist and family friend Stephanie Smith reflects on her experience at the Ealing screenings on November 10.

It was fantastic being able to get my son, Fergus’s, heart checked out locally with a minimum of fuss in a really efficient way.

He will hopefully be off to university next year, and no longer living at home full-time, so it was an opportune moment to do so.

Everyone was friendly and welcoming at the screening, the paperwork was just kept to essentials, and an atmosphere of calm professionalism prevailed, which helped to overcome my son’s initial nerves concerning the procedure.

The test itself took no more than a few minutes, and after a short wait, and a brief chat with the doctor, he was back off to his five-a-side football.

It’s truly wonderful that medical professionals and volunteers give up their time to help, let alone the fund-raising that has gone on beforehand to achieve this, as it would not be available on the NHS, and cost hundreds of pounds to have it done privately.

Although we knew the bundle of fun, Tom Clabburn, in whose name the sessions were made possible, many people in the room had no personal connection, but were quietly waiting their turn, and grateful for the opportunity the CRY scheme gives.

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Posted by on Nov 11, 2013 in 2013, Awareness, CRY screenings

A successful day of screenings

CRY Ealing screenings, November 2013

Claire and Paul, centre, with the CRY team

Nearly 90 people were tested at the latest free CRY Heart Screenings in Ealing on Sunday, November 10.

Tom’s mum, Claire, said “This is the fifth year in a row we have been able to hold screenings in west London thanks to fund-raising by our friends and supporters. We are pleased that so many people took up the opportunity in the month that would have been Tom’s 21st birthday”

Of the 86 people tested, 8 will have further reviews.

As ever, we are grateful to the CRY team, pictured with us above, for their enthusiasm and professionalism.

CRY’s efforts in contacting people with reminders in advance of the event (thanks Suzanne), paid dividends, with numbers up on last year and fewer cancellations.

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