Two Cumbrian people who raised an incredible combined total of £124,000 for the British Heart Foundation have been honoured with an award from the High Sheriff of Cumbria.
The efforts of Geoff Fisher, of Armathwaite, and Davina Sim, of Silloth, who have been volunteering for the heart charity for 45 years between them, were recognised at a special ceremony led by the outgoing High Sherriff of Cumbria Alan McViety.
Davina, who runs the charity’s branch in Silloth, has raised around £60,000 for the charity by holding an annual charity golf competition hosted over the years by Silloth and Carlisle golf clubs.
Money raised from the competitions has helped pay for a number of defibrillators in the town including in the local surgery, at the golf club, and for first responders. It has also helped with the purchase of the echocardiogram ultrasound machine for the cardiology department at the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle and provided additional support for hospitals in Carlisle, Newcastle and Middlesbrough where a number of local people have been treated.
Davina said: “The BHF is very close to my heart because my husband died very suddenly from a heart attack in 1987. I hope over the years this money has supported research and the treatment of life saving care”.
Geoff has been organising the British Heart Foundation Armathwaite Challenge Walk for 25 years and in that time has raised £64,000.
There have been high and low points for the walk over the years – one year Geoff had no support and had to walk it alone. But the latest walk, in September last year, had plenty of help from local businesses and other members of the community and raised £7,500.
Geoff said: “The reason I started the 20-mile walk was because 27 years ago, four people I knew lost their lives to heart related problems all within 12 months of each other and two of them were younger than myself at the time.
“I wanted to raise some money to enable the BHF to do some research and help people recover after heart attacks and other heart issues. As the years went on, I was very lucky to have had tremendous support from some close friends, work colleagues and most of all my lovely wife Helen.”
He added that he had been ready to hang up his walking boots last year after smashing through his £60,000 fundraising target. But then his wife’s father had died.
“Helen’s father supported the Armathwaite Challenge from year one, but sadly old age and heart problems caught up with him,” said Geoff. “So I am going to do this year’s walk in memory of my father-in-law”.
BHF’s fundraising manager for Cumbria Emma Dickinson, who was at the ceremony, said she was delighted that Davina and Geoff had been recognised for all their incredible efforts.
“Without people like them, BHF wouldn’t be able to support pioneering research and the advancement in the treatment for life saving care to the people who need it most,” she said.
“So thank you to Davina, to Geoff, and to all those who have supported them and their events over the years. You really are making a huge difference to people’s lives not just in Cumbria but up and down the country”.
