Great publicity, Chris!
Chris Cockburn has done a fantastic job of raising awareness about CRY and what it stands for.
See http://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/news/young-man-scale-mountain-raise-6414300
Most recent articles
In at the deep end with the ‘Bath Half’
Louise and Ella
University student Ella Brown is tackling her first ever half-marathon next year in aid of Tom’s Fund and CRY.
Ella and her friend Louise Kirk will be taking part in the ‘Bath Half’ – the Bath half-marathon – in March 2014.
Ella, studying Ancient History at the University of Bristol, is a daughter of CRY patron Ben Brown. She said she hoped running in the event would encourage young people to be screened.
“I’ve never run anywhere except for a bus before so this is a pretty big challenge! We’re really hoping we can do everyone proud and complete it, as well as raising money for CRY. It’s a great charity providing invaluable support as well as research into cardiac conditions.
“My siblings have both been screened, and it was an incredibly easy and friendly experience that can give you such peace of mind.”
Anyone who wants to support Ella and Louise can do so via Virgin Money Giving at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/louiseandellarunthebathhalf
Thanks for the donations
Thanks to Neil and to Matthew, Hilary and Vika for the latest donations. As ever, hugely appreciated.
Having your cake – and reading with it!
Angelique, Jacky, Ruth, Simon, Vicky and Claire
Claire’s report: Cake and book lovers flocked to our latest sale in aid of Tom’s fund on Tuesday December 3rd. The sale – our 12th – was held at the BBC where I worked full time until March this year.
Start of the sale…
Hundreds of books had been donated and West London’s amateur bakers had been out in force too* – with the icing on the cake (as it were) going to these cupcakes decorated with books!
Yummy cupcakes
As ever these sales take a lot of effort – otherwise I would be organising them once a week! Hugest thanks go first to Ruth Akins who hosted the sale at the BBC and organised all the tables, setting up and teams of helpers. Others who played their part on the day were Vicky Pearson, Jacky Hems, Simon Wright, Sue Ellis, Angelique Halliburton, Lorna Donlan, Phill Thomas, Bridget Osborne, Sam Upton, Elspeth Morrison and Jane Kinghorn.
Lots of customers!
Thanks also go to former BBC colleagues – Annie Flury on Radio Five Live, Gillian Dear on Radio Four and the One Show for their contributions. We couldn’t do it without you!
So the grand total – yes I know you were wondering about that – was a wonderful £834 which will all go to funding screenings for young people in West London.
Keep your eyes on the site for the next sale which will probably be in the spring outside Munsons cafe in Ealing.
*Those bakers in full: Ruth Akins, Gina Bentley, Elin Hale, Faith Howells, Shona MacMillan, Alison Montgomery, Elspeth Morrison, Linda Panzer, Elizabeth Porter, Anne-Marie Reilly, Isabel Turner and Debbie Young.
Ruth, Jacky and Angelique on cakes
Angelique puts finishing touches to the cake stall
Donations and what’s next …
Firstly, and most importantly, thanks very much for the latest Justgiving donations from Liz and Alan, Ellen, Rob and Caro and Neil.
We have plenty to look forward to this week as, on Tuesday, Ruth Akins is hosting Claire’s book sale for BBC staff in west London. We’ve had lots of offers to bake cakes for sale too, to fit in with CRY’s Great Bake event, which is fantastic.
Finally, we said we’d try Facebook ads to promote Tom’s Fund and CRY during the charity’s Raising Awareness Week. We have paid for the ads ourselves as a family initiative, no money raised for Tom’s Fund or CRY has been used (It’s a bit dull to keep saying this but we think it’s important that if, say, you’ve slogged your way around a 10k, you know the money you’ve raised is only going to be used on screenings and research).
But was it money well spent? We think, on balance and despite the baffling nature of Facebook’s metrics, that the answer is “yes”. We’ve had a good percentage of new “likes”, so thanks to everyone who has given us a thumbs-up. Hopefully we’ve reached people who might not otherwise have been able to read about CRY. We’ll think about doing it again next year during the 2014 CRY Raising Awareness Week.
Have a good weekend!
Xmas cards and cake at “A Cut Above”
CRY supporter Anna Aristodemou is selling the charity’s Christmas cards at her shop, “A Cut Above” in west Ealing’ from today.
The shop can be found at 17 The Avenue, Ealing, London W13 8JR, and is open Tuesday to Saturday, 9am till 5pm, except on Fridays when it is open until 7pm.
Anna will also be holding a cake bake event in aid of CRY on Friday, December 6.
NB: You can also buy CRY charity Xmas cards at Ealing YMCA in W5. See http://www.c-r-y.org.uk/christmas_cards_charity.htm for details.
Huge thanks
The support we received on Tom’s 21st was fantastic. Thank you.
As you know, Tom’s Fund raises money for screenings and research and also promotes awareness of undiagnosed heart conditions in young people.
It can only do so because the charity Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) exists. CRY not only provides the medical, scientific and campaigning expertise, it also gives Tom’s Fund a home. It looks after all the admin for us so that we are properly legal and compliant.
So if you haven’t yet given CRY a Facebook like or a Twitter follow, we’d be ever so grateful if you did.
Thanks again.
Tom’s 21st birthday and the sound of silence
In October this year, government ministers received a report on proposals to cut the number of accidents involving young drivers. They are now considering what to do. A problem has been recognised and attempts, whether successful or not, will be made to put things right (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24485792).
Earlier this month, the case for and against using electronic cigarettes was publicly aired at some length. It’s right that a debate is held, one in which people are provided with information and empowered to take responsible decisions (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-24909648).
Today would have been Tom’s 21st birthday. This week, in all probability, 12 more young people aged 14-35 will die from undiagnosed heart conditions. Sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, husbands, wives, fathers, mothers. They’ll add to the total of more than 3,700 young people who have died since we lost Tom in October, 2007.
Look at that figure again: 3,700 young people since October 2007.
The vast majority of them would have lived had they been screened.
And yet the only sound is silence.
Silence from those who make the law and shape policy. Silence from the medical establishment.
But for one charity, Cardiac Risk in the Young, there would be no voice at all to highlight a dreadful, premature and largely preventable loss of life throughout the United Kingdom.
It is not wrong that there is a debate among policy-makers and medical professionals over issues such as the use of electronic cigarettes or what is the right action to take to cut the number of accidents involving young drivers. What’s wrong is that nobody seems to be listening when it comes to young sudden cardiac deaths. How many more tens of thousands of screenings does CRY have to carry out, how much more research does it have to undertake, before policy-makers take note?
The case for full public scrutiny and debate is clear enough. In Italy, where you have to be screened before you take part in organised sport, deaths from undiagnosed heart conditions have been cut by 89%. Here, CRY’s figures suggest that 1 in every 300 people screened will be identified with a potentially life threatening condition.
In any event, when do statistics reach a tipping point that suggests action is required? Should it matter if it’s 12 a week or 1 a week or 50 a week? If as a society we have the equipment and skills to make a difference, shouldn’t we do so?
It is not that those young adults with undiagnosed heart conditions should be heard above others who suffer different plights. It’s simply that as much weight and attention needs to be given to this issue as to others.
CRY has ploughed a lonely furrow for many years and done so quite magnificently. If a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step, Alison Cox and the team have walked many miles already.
But they continue to need your help. On Tom’s birthday and in the middle of CRY’s Awareness Week, please take a moment to show your support. Put something on Facebook or Twitter, stick up a poster, anything, no matter how small it seems to you, helps.
Show that you think losing so many young people when we do not need to is wrong.
For Tom and all those like him, make your voice heard above the silence.