PEMBROKESHIRE and Carmarthenshire staff at a leading Wales accountancy firm have raised almost £6,000 over the past 12 months for the charity CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young).

The charity helps to prevent young sudden cardiac deaths through awareness, screening and research, as well as supporting affected families.

Over £60,000 has now been raised for good causes over the past four years by staff in the Accountancy firm which has 13 offices and just over 100 staff across mid and west Wales.

The year of fundraising has been a concerted effort across the two counties. the staff in the Haverfordwest office held a bingo night at the Cresselly Cricket Club ground which raised over £800. Debbie Blanchard from the Carmarthen office spent many hours crocheting unique CRY teddies ready to auction in November of last year.

Back in September, all staff took part in a 10km sponsored walk at Llys y Fran Reservoir in Pembrokeshire. There were also monthly dress-down Fridays and a bake-off competition. In November’s CRY awareness week everyone walked, or ran, 12 miles to help raise awareness of the 12 young people who die each week from young sudden cardiac death.

Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) works to reduce the frequency of young sudden cardiac death. CRY supports young people diagnosed with potentially life-threatening cardiac conditions and offers bereavement support to families affected by YSCD. CRY promotes and develops heart screening programmes and funds medical research. CRY also funds specialist referral, screening and cardiac pathology services at leading UK hospitals.

Ian Badham, Ashmole & Co Partner in the Haverfordwest and Tenby offices, said, “We must thank our clients and friends who have helped us raise this significant amount. Some of our staff, including myself, were aware of CRY and its heart screening programme prior to us starting our fundraising year thanks to the Dean Mason Memorial fund. It has been a pleasure to work with Dan Mason from the Memorial Fund over the past 12 months to help raise awareness and vital funds.” [More follows…]

The £5,873 raised by Ashmole & Co will fund one heart screening event in south Wales. 1 in 300 people CRY tests will have a potentially life-threatening heart condition which will benefit from lifestyle advice, treatment and sometimes corrective surgery. Cardiac screening with an electrocardiogram (ECG) is aimed at identifying people with conditions such as heart muscles disorders or electrical faults of the heart who have a cardiac abnormality without any symptoms.

Dan Mason, whose family run the Dean Mason Memorial Fund said, “We are very grateful to Ashmole & Co for helping to raise funds and awareness of C-R-Y over the past 12 months. Your generous donation means we can continue to raise awareness of sudden cardiac death in young people across Wales. It has been a pleasure to meet and chat about CRY to the staff and partners in the accountancy firm to help them appreciate how the money raised will be used in Wales.”