Hemel Hempstead, 27 February 2023 - A Hemel Hempstead-based company has celebrated raising over £145,000 to help the British Heart Foundation (BHF) fund lifesaving research into heart and circulatory diseases.
BAM Construct UK, who design, construct, refurbish and operate buildings across the country, was announced as a partner of the BHF in February 2021.
Over the last two years, the company held a number of challenges and fundraising events including staff wrapping Christmas presents for shoppers at the Atria shopping centre in Watford, helping to raise much-needed funds. In total, BAM raised £145,120 for the charity.
Colleagues also learnt to become lifesavers by taking part in CPR training and the company has committed to training its entire UK workforce in these essential skills.
The money raised by BAM will help the BHF fund vital research into heart and circulatory diseases like heart attacks, stroke and vascular dementia, and the risk factors that can cause them, such as diabetes and high blood pressure.
Since forming in 1961, the charity has funded research that has contributed to lifesaving breakthroughs such as heart transplants, pacemakers, portable defibrillators, and valve replacements.
Despite the huge progress made, heart and circulatory conditions are still the world’s biggest killers - and every three minutes in the UK, a family loses a loved one to a heart or circulatory disease. Around 120,000 people are living with these conditions in Herftfordshire alone.
Beth Kidd, National Community Engagement Coordinator at BAM Construct UK, said: ‘Our colleagues are so proud to have reached this phenomenal fundraising milestone for the British Heart Foundation and help make a real difference for those living with heart and circulatory diseases. With these conditions killing one in four people in the UK alone, it’s inspiring to know that the money we have raised will help fund the scientific breakthroughs of tomorrow to save and improve lives.’
Nicola Reavey, BHF Fundraising Manager for Hertfordshire, said: ‘We are so grateful that BAM has raised such an incredible amount of money, and want to say a heartfelt thank you to all their colleagues for their fantastic fundraising efforts. For more than 60 years, the British Heart Foundation has funded research that has turned ideas that once seemed like 'science fiction' into treatments and cures that save lives every day. But millions of people are still waiting for the next breakthrough. It is only thanks to the generous support of companies like BAM that we can keep research going and discover the treatments and cures of the future.’
It is only with donations from the public that the BHF can keep its lifesaving research going. Help us turn science fiction into reality. With donations from the public, the BHF funds ground-breaking research that will get us closer than ever to a world free from the fear of heart and circulatory diseases. A world where broken hearts are mended, where millions more people survive a heart attack, where the number of people dying from or disabled by a stroke is slashed in half. A world where people affected by heart and circulatory diseases get the support they need. And a world of cures and treatments we can’t even imagine today. Find out more at bhf.org.uk
Being the construction business of BAM UK and Ireland division, BAM Construct UK is at the forefront of social and technological change in the UK’s built environment. It has created some of Britain’s best-known and best-performing buildings. The company operates from major regional centres in every major city of the UK. BAM is a leader in digital construction and contributed to the development of platform design solutions to assist the whole sector through the Construction Industry Hub. It is known for its highly collaborative ethos. BAM is one of very few construction companies placed on CDP's prestigious ‘A List’ for climate change. It is a signatory of the World Green Building Council Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment.
For more information: Will Slater in the BHF Media Team on 07818 510 100 or slaterw@bhf.org.uk, or Beth Kidd on bkidd@bam.com.