More Than A Fundraising Event….a Special Chance To Connect And Remember

The Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) Heart of London Bridges Walk is now in its 13th year, raising well over £800,000 to date since its launch in 2007. And, Trinity PR is proud to have been a part of this event since ‘day one’, stepping out in support of this unique charity and the inspiring families it represents.

So, at 11am on Sunday (23 June) more than 1,500 people left the Southwark Park (the event’s ‘new home’ for 2019) for a 5.5km circular walk through the cobbled streets of historical London, taking “walkers” along the river Thames and crossing two of the Capital’s most iconic bridges, Tower and the Millennium Bridge.

As well as an opportunity for bereaved families to meet up and spend time together, the spacious and welcoming new venue also lent itself to the introduction of dedicated quiet space with a Memory Wall for people to pin personal thoughts of those they have lost.

Every week in the UK, 12 apparently “fit and healthy” young people (35 & under) die from a previously undiagnosed heart condition. In 80% of these cases, there will have been no signs or symptoms, which is why CRY believes proactive cardiac screening is so vitally important. As such, CRY now tests around 30,000 young people each year aged between 14 and 35 – and over 195,000 since the screening programme was launched in 1995.

As is the tradition, international Opera singer Kathryn Harries  officially started the Walk. Kathryn, a Patron of CRY was the inspiration for the first ever ‘Bridges Walk’ following her own, personal marathon effort in 2007, when she walked 32 miles across London in 12 hours.  Just a week later, she led 400 families and friends of CRY over London’s bridges, in what has now grown into the charity’s largest annual event!

Speaking ahead of the walk, Chief Executive of the charity, Dr. Steven Cox said “CRY’s Heart of London Bridges Walk is one of our most important events of the year, bringing families and friends together from all over the UK to remember the person who meant so much to them and who died so suddenly. Children, siblings, parents, grandparents, cousins and friends will all be coming together on this special day and in doing so will not only be helping to support each other but also helping to raising awareness of young sudden cardiac death.

“There are so few occasions for families to participate in an event on this scale, and it really has become a day just for them. We are so pleased to be able to host this annually for all families who have been through similar experiences and to enable them to “meet up, connect and remember”.

Thanks to an inspiring level of continued support since 1995 from the public, bereaved families and many businesses and community organisations across the UK, CRY has developed a bespoke range of services from pioneering research and fast-track pathology through to a specialist Network of Bereavement Support and of course, its internationally renowned screening programme.

Dr Cox adds; “We are immensely grateful to everyone taking part, all of whom will have been affected in some way by the devastating impact of a sudden cardiac death in a young person close to them.

“From the messages we see on social media on the day and the encouragement we receive en route, we know that so many people out there – as well as from the home-towns of all those participating – are supporting our walkers every step of the way.”

www.testmyheart.org.uk