For the third year running, CRY is delighted to be a charity partner of the UK’s largest Asian-specific broadcast media outlet, Sunrise Radio.
Tony LIT MBE is the Managing Director of Sunrise Radio and, in January 2020, was invited to become an official Ambassador for CRY, in recognition of his continued support and determination to launch the pioneering initiative.
Tony says;
“The responsibility of running an iconic radio service like Sunrise Radio goes far beyond selling commercials and programming airtime for me and my team. Sunrise has now been broadcasting to the South Asian community for over 30 years and for the past three decades it has become much more than a service source for entertainment but is also relied upon for important community messages, news and information.
“It’s absolutely vital that we do our bit in society and support charitable organisations like CRY. There can be nothing worse than losing a young life needlessly in our country in this day and age. That’s why awareness campaigns like this are so important as we work together with CRY to save young lives and invoke real change in communities across the United Kingdom.”
The partnership was initially planned for 12 months but due to its success and the response from listeners, has continued to run and run, incorporating spot advertising, community messaging, interviews and testimonials with CRY’s medical and policy experts and families affected by young sudden cardiac death. Strategic social media posts and video content posted on the Sunrise Radio YouTube Channel also enhance the campaign.
And in March 2021, Tony and his amazing team spearheaded an incredible “radio marathon”, which saw presenter Anushka Arora broadcast live for 36-hours to raise awareness of CRY across the British Asian community – as well as raising over £10,000 in donations!
Tony – a highly respected figure in the media industry and a well-known political campaigner for communities and social justice – first approached CRY following the sudden death of the only son of a family friend from a previously undiagnosed heart condition. He was aged just 17 and was a fit and sporty young man, with his death sending shockwaves throughout his local community and beyond. As a father of three, Tony was deeply moved by this tragedy and pledged, “whatever support Sunrise Radio and I can give personally, over and above, I shall do so.”
Tony – a highly respected figure in the media industry and a well-known political campaigner for communities and social justice – first approached CRY following the sudden death of the only son of a family friend from a previously undiagnosed heart condition. He was aged just 17 and was a fit and sporty young man, with his death sending shockwaves throughout his local community and beyond. As a father of 3, Tony was deeply moved by this tragedy and pledged, “whatever support Sunrise Radio and I can give personally, over and above, I shall do so.”
Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) works to reduce the frequency of young sudden cardiac death (YSCD) and offers support to families affected by YSCD.
The emotional impact of the sudden, seemingly inexplicable death of a young person on their family cannot be underestimated. CRY offers emotional and clinical support following a young sudden cardiac death.
Screening to identify young people at risk is cost-effective when conducted correctly – the conditions can be treated, securing a future for those identified. All young people should have the choice to be tested.
CRY’s research programme gives us unique access to general population-based data, enabling comparisons between athletes, ethnicities and gender. Better understanding of what is normal for young people, can better identify and treat those at risk.
Awareness not only helps identify those at risk, but also ensures correct clinical practice when treating a young person with an inherited cardiac condition.
Dr Abbas Zaidi completed the London Marathon on Sunday 26 April, raising money for CRY:
He says;
“I’ve worked with Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) for over a decade, ever since they supported me as a cardiology research fellow in London. I’ve screened many thousands of young people with CRY, have met so many amazing people, travelled far and wide for screenings, and gained unique knowledge and skills. I continue to support CRY’s work in my current role as a Consultant Cardiologist in Cardiff, including receiving screening referrals from all over Southeast Wales.
“I wanted to say a huge thank you to CRY by running the 2023 London Marathon to raise funds for them! I’d like to thank everyone for generously supporting my fundraising. I’ve been overwhelmed by the response, and I’m delighted to have raised over £3000, which is well in excess of my original target. This has been gratefully received by the charity and will undoubtedly help to further the cause of preventing sudden deaths in young people.”
“I really enjoyed the day itself and was so pleased with my finish time of 3 hours and 16 minutes.
“So, a huge thank you once again for all your support!”
Raising awareness of CRY and its objectives can be as easy as a click of a button or downloading and printing posters to display in your windows. Liking or sharing a post on our social media pages and sharing our Youtube videos is such a vital way to help raise awareness and save young lives.
CRY recieves no funding a part from the donations received from our supporters. If you would like to get involved and help CRY save young lives by raising any amount we would be happy to support you in doing so and would be incrediably grateful.
The fundraising sections of our website has an arrar of ideas of ways to get involved, along with write ups of previous events and fund raising efforts by our supports to draw inspiration from.
35p from every £1 spent goes to CRY’s cardiac screening services, to subsidise the cost and increase the availability for young people. This money combined with the money for research, goes directly towards saving young lives.
CRY’s research grants cover not only research into the prevention of young sudden cardiac death, but also interlink with CRY’s support support services and cardiac screenings. Through CRY’s research programme we are able to provide clinical support services in cardiology and pathology.
15p from every £1 spent goes towards raising awareness. Raising awareness includes providing posters and literature free of charge to anyone who requests them it; providing medical and support information to the public and medical practitioners, via social and print media; and providing up-to-date website information that is easily found via search engines such as Google.
It may appear that only 7p from every £1 spent goes towards support. However, support is also an integral part of everything else that CRY does. For example, money spent on research allows CRY to support families via a specialist cardiac pathology service – giving families important answers about the cause of death. All of the family members who have been trained to become bereavement supporters do this as volunteers. We currently have 22 bereaved family members (parents, siblings and partners) who are volunteers providing support to help other bereaved family members. The CRY Centre for Inherited Cardiac Conditions and Sports Cardiology also offers clinical support, through testing and safeguarding other family members following a death or a diagnosis of a condition.
16.5p from every £1 spent enables CRY to support fundraisers. This is through providing advice and materials; and also ensuring that any funds raised are correctly allocated, thanked and – most importantly – recorded as being raised in memory of a specific individual (where applicable). CRY strives to keep fundraising and governance costs to a minimum; and is also committed to transparency with regards to how funds are used, what initiatives / activities are ongoing and how the charity is achieving its aims. CRY is registered with The Fundraising Regulator and has also created a set of fundraising principles (found here).
Catch the latest interview with Former Research Fellow Dr Aneil Malhotra
On March 26-27 2021, Sunrise radio presenter Anushka Arora broadcast live for 36-hours to raise funds and awareness of Cardiac Risk in the Young across the British Asian community.
The 36-hour broadcasting marathon featured music, ‘shout outs’, a range of live interviews (with doctors, young people whose lives have been saved by screening as well as those who have suffered a bereavement) and regular reminders of why it is so important to support CRY and help to raise funds for its ongoing mission in preventing sudden cardiac death in young people.
Thanks to everyone’s generous donations throughout the broadcast, Sunrise Radio raised an incredible £10,028.52 in aid of CRY
CRY Ambassador Arjun joined Anuskha on Sunrise radio to discuss his career in music and his experience with Cardiac Risk in the Young. Arjun has been associated with CRY since his wife died from an undiagnosed heart condition in 2018.
CRY supporter Dr Vanessa Sandhu spoke to Shabnam Sahi from Sunrise Radio about her sister Dr Natasha Coomaraswamy (née Sandhu) and the impact of her sudden death in 2018 and the impact this had on her and her family.
CRY’s Consultant Cardiologist, Professor Sanjay Sharma, spoke about his career, how he got started with CRY, and the importance of cardiac screening for young people.
Former CRY Research Fellow and now myheart consultant Cardiologist spoke about her experience with CRY and her ongoing work with the Charity
(CRY’s myheart network provides personalised help, support, and information to individuals who have been diagnosed with a potentially life-threatening inherited or congenital cardiac condition.)
Preventing young sudden cardiac deaths through awareness, screening and research, and supporting affected families.
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