A Kent family have raised a staggering £100,000 for Cardiac Risk in the Young having sadly lost their son whilst playing football three years ago.
The Ben Daniels Memorial Fund has hit its initial target of £100,000 through tremendous fundraising efforts over the past 2 years.
The fund, run by the Daniels family from Bickley, near Chislehurst, – in partnership with the charity Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) – was launched following the tragic and sudden death of local schoolboy, Ben Daniels, from a previously undiagnosed heart condition. He was aged just 15.
Ben collapsed without warning whilst playing football with his Ex Blues FC teammates on March 5th 2011. Despite the heroic efforts of his coach, team mates, paramedics and the staff at St. Thomas hospital, he passed away three day later on 8th March.
A year on (in March 2012 – coincidentally, the day before the well documented, sudden collapse of footballer, Fabrice Muamba) Paul and Helena Daniels, along with Ben’s friends, established the Ben Daniels Memorial Fund to help raise awareness of young sudden cardiac death and to fund screening sessions provided through CRY’s pioneering screening programme.
Thanks to the support of friends, family and the local community, funds raised have now led to the screening of almost 1,000 young people (aged 14-35) from the local area.
Indeed, the BDMF’s next screening will be taking place at Ben’s former school, Ravens Wood, Bromley, next week (Friday 14th October) where a further 100 pupils will be offered free cardiac testing.
Every week, 12 apparently fit and healthy young (aged 35 and under) people lose their lives to sudden cardiac death in the UK – a statistic that is believed to be a conservative estimate.
A staggering 80% of these apparently healthy young people who die from young sudden cardiac death will have shown no previous sign of heart defects until it is too late – which is why CRY believes screening is vitally important. Indeed, the charity now tests around 15,000 young people each year.
Chief Executive and Founder of CRY, Alison Cox MBE, commented on the incredible amount raised by the Daniels family:
“Since we were first introduced to Paul, in the tragic aftermath of Ben’s death, we were struck by his incredible determination and drive to raise funds for our work and to make a real difference to his community. Like so many of the families who come to us at CRY, Paul is passionate about creating a legacy of proactive screening and reaching out to young people in Ben’s memory.”
Alison added; “As a charity, we are always so grateful for the fundraising efforts of our supporters, such as Ben’s family and friends, in helping us to deliver our screening programme, bereavement support network and ground-breaking research.”
“It takes enormous courage for bereaved families to become involved in this way, although we know many find it a positive experience to be actively doing something that could help to save another life and prevent other families from having to suffer in the way they have.”
“From everyone at CRY, I would like to say an enormous ‘thank you’ to the BDMF for reaching this huge milestone of £100,000.”
As part of the BDMF’s ongoing commitment to CRY, Paul has co-ordinated regional fundraising, attended and spoken at events on CRY’s behalf, significantly helped to raise the charity’s profile in sporting circles – particularly cricket, acted as a media spokesperson and contributed to the recent bereavement booklet, “A Father’s Grief.”
He has also enlisted the support of organisations such as Rotary and Ravens Wood School – which played a major in the BBC’s nationwide ‘School Report’ project, on behalf of CRY.
Paul said of raising such a significant amount: “We were absolutely delighted when we were informed by the team at CRY that Ben’s memorial fund had reached our target of £100,000.”
“What an amazing tribute to our son – and we can never thank our local community enough for their unrelenting support.”
“However, this milestone does not mark the end of our fundraising and awareness raising work. Far from it! As CRY enters its 20th year, our commitment to supporting screening, research and CRY’s mission to reduce the number of young people dying from undetected heart conditions, is as strong as ever.”
To show your support to the fund, click here: www.bendanielsmemorialfund.co.uk