Dalkia UK has pledged to raise £80,000 to help the British Heart Foundation (BHF) fund lifesaving research into heart and circulatory diseases.
Over the next two years Dalkia UK, who have around 4,000 employees across the UK, will take part in a series of activities, including the Three Peaks Challenge, to help reach its fundraising target. Colleagues will also participate in BHF supported health and wellbeing engagement activities, to ensure a healthier workforce, including becoming lifesavers by learning to give CPR.
Gautier Jacob, CEO, Dalkia UK said: “One of our core values is People First – it starts with health, safety and wellbeing – and the partnership is testament to this. BHF was chosen as our new charity partner by employee vote, reflecting our people’s commitment to supporting impactful causes and we’re proud that their efforts will contribute to lifesaving research. With heart and circulatory diseases the cause of one in four deaths in the UK, it’s inspiring that our fundraising could make a real impact for such an important cause.”
The money raised by Dalkia employees 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 heart or circulatory disease.
Helen Smith, Fundraising Manager at the BHF said: “We are honoured that Dalkia UK have chosen to support British Heart Foundation and help fund the scientific breakthroughs of tomorrow. For more than 60 years, BHF 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 Dalkia UK that we can keep research going and discover the treatments and cures of the future.”