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Secretary of State "makes a splash"
in support of leading heart charity
4th March 2010
Press Release |
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Students from Elsley School
and Ernest Bevin College (South West London) had a unique opportunity to
meet the Secretary of State for Health, Rt Hon Andy Burnham MP on Thursday
4th March and to thank him for introducing the increasingly popular
Swim4life
initiative that provides under 16s across the UK with free swimming.
The Swim4life project was
first launched in April 2009 by Mr Burnham (then Secretary of State for
Culture Media and Sport) and saw over a thousand local pools signing up to
the scheme that offers free swimming to people aged 60 and over and 16 and
under - giving 20 million people the chance to take
part in an activity that they might otherwise not have had access to.
And, to
demonstrate his beliefs in the benefits of swimming - as well as his
continued commitment to the charity, Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) in its
15th Anniversary year - Andy Burnham has also agreed to take part
in the
Great North Swim (swimming one mile across Lake Windermere) in exactly
six months time on September 4th, pledging to raise money to help
support the charity’s vital work and ongoing screening programme.
Three years later, when 16
year old Daniel Young from Atherton collapsed and died whilst playing
football, Mr Burnham was invited by Daniel's parents - Dionne and Craig - to
attend a CRY cardiac testing event funded by donations from the community.
Since then, he has openly pledged to help address the issue of sudden
cardiac death in the young, which currently claims the lives of at least 12
apparently fit and healthy people, aged 35 and under, in the UK every week.
Mr Burnham adds: "I am all too aware of the
terrible impact that sudden cardiac death has on families across the UK,
particularly following the death of a talented and popular young footballer
in my constituency. Therefore, I am delighted to be supporting CRY’s work
through my swim in September and with the launch of the CRYSWIM2010
project.
“CRY has pushed cardiac risk in the young into
the consciousness of government and through their screening programme, their
centres for Inherited Cardiac Conditions, Sports Cardiology and Pathology
which have shown us what can be done to reduce the risk of young sudden
cardiac death.
“Everyone that
supports this swim will know that they are making an important
contribution to CRY’s work to reduce that statistic and in
helping to develop their well established and ground-breaking
screening programme and the vital research it yields.”
In addition to raising awareness of
the Swim4Life initiative, CRYSWIM2010 will encourage young
people across the UK to develop a greater understanding of CRY’s
work and the importance of
cardiac screening,
whilst allowing them to have fun and keep fit whilst trying to
raise funds for the charity.
CRY’s Chief
Executive and Founder, Alison Cox MBE adds: “We are
absolutely delighted that Andy Burnham is once again giving up
his time to help support us in our ongoing mission to reduce the
number of young lives lost needlessly to sudden cardiac death.
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Andy Burnham and Alison Cox
address students at Ernest Bevin College |
“We’re very proud to
endorse Andy’s initiative, which has transformed the lives
of so many children, which has been particularly appreciated in many cities
and deprived areas. By working together to encourage young people to take
the plunge and “Swim 4 CRY”, we can really make a difference in our special
15th anniversary year.”
Schools and families across
the UK – many of whom have tragically been affected by sudden cardiac death
– will be organising “swims” between March and November to help raise funds
for Andy Burnham’s swim.
There
is no registration fee and the first 10,000 young people to register will
receive a CRY 15th anniversary bracelet. The first 10,000 pupils whose class
returns their fundraising will receive a CRY swim bag and drinks bottle.
As a thank you to Ernest Bevin College for their
help with the launch, Alison and Andy also announced
that CRY would offer free heart screening to all pupils aged 14+ at the
school.
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With staff from the
Ernest Bevin sports department |
With co-principals of
Ernest Bevin, Mike Chivers and Rukhsana Sheik |
For more media information,
to set up a meeting with Alison Cox or to speak to a family affected by
sudden cardiac death please call Jo Hudson or Heather Churchouse on 020 8786
3860 / 0770 948 7959.
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