Henry Smith MP column, Crawley Observer, 7 October 2015
It was a pleasure to visit the British Heart Foundation clothing and electrical shop in Crawley a couple of weeks ago.
I want to use this week’s column to say thank you to the hard-working staff and volunteers who work for the BHF in Crawley and around the country – every person is playing their part in the fight against heart disease.
There are, of course, two BHF shops in Crawley that are both well worth having a look around in – the furniture and electrical store on the Broadway, as well as the shop on Queensway.
Of course, if you have any items you may be able to donate to either store, or if you are thinking about volunteering to help out in either British Heart Foundation charity shop, please feel free to pop in and have a chat.
Before the last parliamentary recess I was pleased to attend an event in the House of Commons supporting the Every Child a Lifesaver campaign – a joint initiative between the BHF, St John Ambulance and the British Red Cross.
The campaign is calling for first aid to be taught in all state-funded secondary schools – you never know when this knowledge could literally save someone’s life.
A further BHF campaign I am pleased to support coincides with European Restart a Heart Day, on Friday 16th October – a continent-wide day aimed at teaching people how to perform life-saving cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) skills.
To coincide with this, the BHF have launched Mission: CPR, to train as many school pupils as possible on that day, to help create a nation of lifesavers.
As I write this week’s column, I’m delighted to read an announcement from the BHF and the Department of Health, who have launched a £1 million partnership to make public access defibrillators and CPR training more widely available throughout England.
This announcement follows the Government’s commitment to invest £1 million to improve defibrillator availability, as announced in the Chancellor’s Budget in March.
From now until March 2016, the BHF will be accepting applications for public access defibrillators and CPR training kits from organisations such as charities, social enterprises, and other community groups.
Each award will be accompanied by the British Heart Foundation’s CPR and defibrillator awareness training programme, Call Push Rescue, allowing more and more people to become potential lifesavers.
For more information, or if you are interested in making an application, please visit the British Heart Foundation’s website: www.bhf.org.uk/defibsdh. I have also included this information on my own website: www.henrysmith.info
Additionally, please feel free to contact me via email at: henry.smith.mp@parliament.uk or by writing to me at the House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA, and I would be more than happy to pass on your interest to the British Heart Foundation directly.
Finally, if you would like to help the British Heart Foundation’s work by making a donation, please visit: www.bhf.org.uk/donate
Related articles:
Crawley MP backs British Heart Foundation
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Henry Smith MP supports British Heart Foundation in Crawley
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Crawley MP backs Every Child a Lifesaver campaign
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