Merseybeat Appeal
Contact Carol Kirkham
Website www.ctc.nhs.uk
Email carol.kirkham@ctc.nhs.uk
Telephone 0151 293 2226
Fax 0151 600 1862
Address
Merseybeat Appeal, Liverpool Cardiothoracic NHS Trust, Thomas Drive, Liverpool, L14 3PE
About us
The Formby Friends Group was established by Colette McMenamin in December 1999 with the support of £40 funding from her husband. Colettes husband, Gerry, was treated at the Cardiothoracic Centre (CTC) by Dr Ramsdale.
Colette had no idea the need to raise funds existed but after listening to Dr Ramsdale she realised that research projects were required in order to develop better treatments for patients with heart disease. It was at that point Colette felt compelled to raise funds for the hospitals charity, the Merseybeat Appeal.
Each year as the Group became better known their fundraising has increased and the Group has gone from strength to strength. They currently have 18 people who all help with the fundraising events or run their own events. All members of the group support each other and decide on what types of events they want to organise. Over the years they have organised many regular and varied events including Garden Trails, Dances, Ladies Lunches, Quiz Nights, and a Dickensian Day to name but a few.
The Group meets once a month at 7.30pm in the Luncheon Club on Rosemary Lane, whereby they discuss and plan various events/sources of income. The Group also take part in Saturday morning workshops in the Church and organise external stalls within Formby village on an ad hoc basis, where they sell books and various items of bric a brac.
One of the major Formby Friends Group events for 2007 is the garden trail which is currently in its eighth year and takes place on the 15th July. Members of the public purchase tickets at a cost of £5 per person, which includes entry to approximately 10 superb gardens and allotments, and each visitor receives a complimentary cream tea.
The Group also have a strong presence at the annual Formby Dickensian Day, which they have supported for many years.
From a £40 beginning the Group have developed and have now raised over £40,000 for the Merseybeat Appeal.
All monies are used to support our research projects at the Cadiothoracic Centre. Around the world, therapies to prevent and treat heart disease are constantly evolving and improving along with our understanding of the disease. The Cardiothoracic Centre (CTC) has a strong commitment to research and development that is embodied in its independent Research Laboratory. Working with local Universities, clinicians and scientists the CTC Research Laboratory carry out research aimed directly at improving outcomes for CTC patients. In some instances, our findings are quickly translated into improvements in clinical practice, benefiting patients in the short-term. We are also tackling some of the more difficult challenges facing cardiovascular medicine today, helping to prevent heart disease and to improve treatments for patients of the future.
Much of our research concentrates on the major interventional treatments for heart disease, particularly coronary artery bypass surgery and coronary angioplasty, looking at the causes of complications and evaluating new ideas to overcome them.
I hope the above-mentioned paragraphs serve to provide some background to the work of the Formby Friends Fundraising Group.
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