On Sunday 4 September, people from Harrogate District and across the region are invited to gather together at the Mansion in Roundhay Park to take part in a sponsored walk for Take Heart, the charity which supports the Yorkshire Heart Centre at Leeds General Infirmary.
The hospital sees patients from across the county and the charity is looking for supporters, both young and old, to get involved.
The event is now in its 22nd successful year and hundreds of supporters, their friends and families – and even their dogs – are expected walk around the beautiful park for as little as a mile or as much as twelve miles to raise much needed funds. Every participant receives a medal.
Take Heart is a small but professional charity run on a completely voluntary basis. It was founded in 1989 by a few heart patients who wanted to give something back for the wonderful care they received.
From a small beginning, they have raised over £2 million and it has all been used to provide comfort and enhance the surroundings for the many thousands who visit the Yorkshire Heart Centre at Leeds General Infirmary each year from Leeds, Bradford and Airedale, Wakefield, Calderdale and Kirklees as well as Harrogate and York.
The charity also support the staff in their work and improve the environment at the Infirmary in Leeds. Some major achievements are the provision of a suite of relatives rooms for overnight accommodation in the hospital, available free of charge when required, a roof garden providing a peaceful area for patients and relatives and an internal garden.
They have recently provided changing rooms for an additional MRI scanner and refurbished waiting areas to ensure patients enjoy comfort of the highest standard. Take Heart even provide free bedside TV and telephone calls for most in-patients of the heart wards. Just a few weeks ago, the charity were proud to be able to provide the £55,000.00 required to purchase a portable heart scanner which enables the cardiac consultants to perform high resolution scans at a patient’s bedside if they are unable to be moved to the clinic.
The charity has made such an impact that the chairman, Colin Pullan, has been honoured by the Queen who presented him with the MBE.
Like most charities, the recession has had an effect on the amount of donations coming in. The sponsored walk in Roundhay Park is the major fund raising event and Take Heart is making an appeal to everyone, young and old, to come along to the park and walk for the charity.
To obtain a sponsor form, please telephone the Take Heart office at LGI on 0113 392 2888 or go to their website at www.takeheart.net
