CRY Staff enjoy a “Deep Dive” into it's unique new charity partnership!
A team of submariners from HMS Agincourt made the journey down from Barrow-in-Furness to CRY’s HQ in Surrey to officially launch a pioneering fundraising collaboration
The Royal Navy’s HMS Agincourt – the last of the Astute class submarines currently being built at the BAE Systems shipyard in Barrow – has named Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) as a partner charity. And, to celebrate the news, some of her crew travelled down to meet with CEO, Dr Steven Cox and to learn more about CRY’s mission to prevent young sudden cardiac death (YSCD) through screening, awareness, and research.
Dr Cox was presented with a memorial shield from HMS Agincourt which will proudly hang on the wall at CRY’s Head Office and a bespoke ‘Bond of Friendship’ document, to formalise the charity association.
As part of the visit [Tuesday February 13th] the team, led by Senior Naval Officer Lt Cdr Andy Rodgers, was given a tour of CRY’s Head Office, meeting staff from key departments including screening, fundraising, communications and bereavement support, which helped to provide a thorough insight into the vital work carried out by CRY as well as an opportunity to discuss and understand the scale and impact of young sudden cardiac death.
Lt Cdr Rodgers – who’s been instrumental in securing the charity partnership – and his colleagues went on to deliver a fascinating presentation to CRY staff, followed by an engaging Q&A session, helping to shed some light on the underwater world of a submariner and the challenges often faced by this very specific branch of the British military services. They also explained the importance and value of becoming involved with – and “giving back” to – charitable organisations and how proud the crew felt about this new partnership with CRY.
CRY was introduced to the team of HMS Agincourt through a very loyal supporter, fundraiser and campaigner, Dave Hughes who works as a Rolls-Royce project engineer on the Astute programme based in the BAE Systems shipyard in Barrow in Furness. Dave and his wife Sue, who live in Stoke on Trent, became involved with CRY following the sudden and devastating death of their son, Dan, in 2015. He was aged just 28. Since then over £550,000 has been raised in Dan’s memory to fund heart screening which includes a 5 year programme for Rolls -Royce submarines eligible employees and for young people across the Derbyshire and Cumbria regions, as well as supporting the purchase of key items of medical equipment and an incredible donation of over £25,000 to buy a new van [“Dan’s Van”] to add to CRY’s fleet of mobile screening units, will facilitate the testing of around 50,000 young people during its time of service with CRY.
Speaking before the recent visit, Lt Cdr Andy Rodgers said; “Thank you [Dave] for sharing your story with me, which is so powerful. Just listening to you has been a very thought-provoking experience. I am therefore absolutely delighted to announce CRY as HMS AGINCOURT’s associated charity.”
“Over the service life of the vessel- which will span many decades! – associations, such as ours with CRY, can be very mutually beneficial, providing charities with often much needed exposure and presenting important fundraising opportunities. We’re delighted to be working with CRY and look forward to doing our bit to help make a real difference.”
One of the first fundraising events taking place as part of the collaboration will see a team from the HMS Agincourt crew taking part in the annual “Keswick to Barrow 40-mile Walk” (or run!). This year, the gruelling challenge kicks off on May 11th and will be a great way to actively promote the partnership to the local community. Prior to this, two days of cardiac screening, brought to Barrow by the Dan Hughes Memorial Fund, took place on February 24 and 25 – which presented an ideal opportunity for those involved with the building of HMS Agincourt (and those who will serve on her) to see CRY’s screening team ‘in action’.
