Marathon effort kick-starts hospital Heart Appeal
Cirencester Rotary Club has donated £1200 to the Cheltenham and Gloucester Hospitals Charity to get their appeal for two new ECG machines off to a flying start.
When Rotarian Yvonne Binks heard that the hospital team who had given her treatment were fundraising for new ECG machines, she decided to get behind their appeal and make an impact for future patients.
Yvonne completed the Bournemouth Marathon just 18 months after undergoing heart treatment. She sought out sponsorship from fellow Rotarians, friends and from her previous employers at Barclays Bank, who provided matched funding.
As Yvonne explained, “At age 70, but with 16 marathons behind me, I considered myself fit and healthy and so my heart attack came as a shock. I have nothing but praise for the support and treatment I received from Dr Peter Scott and his staff at the heart unit and so I wanted to do something tangible to show my gratitude.”
Richard Smith, Head of Fundraising for the charity, said, “I cannot think of a better way to kick-start our Heart Appeal for new ECG machines than Yvonne and Cirencester Rotary Club’s fantastic fundraising, and we are very grateful indeed for their support. We have an incredible Cardiology team in Gloucestershire and, as Yvonne has shown with her marathon run, their work really does transform lives. We’re hoping that lots more people will join the Rotary Club in getting behind our Cardiology team and supporting this appeal.”
In total, the Heart Appeal aims to raise £13,500 to fund two new ECG machines featuring the latest technology to benefit the increasing number of heart patients treated by the local Cardiology Team. To find out more about their Heart Appeal visit www.gloshospitals.nhs.uk/charity
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