The Heart of Northants Committee
Kathryn Whatton, Managing Director, KMW Business Solutions- Chairman
About two years ago I was approached, completely out of the blue, to see if I would help raising funds to support the BHF.
I was also asked if I would form a committee to enable the British Heart Foundation to raise funds of £100,000 towards the cost of a Heart Failure Nurse in Northamptonshire.
Local company Legwork Marketing Services organised the launch on the 11th November 2008 at Northampton Saints Rugby Club. The event was publicised by the Northampton Chronicle & Echo, a sponsor of the fund.
On this evening and in the coming weeks various individuals agreed to join the Northants committee which recently has become known as the ‘Heart of Northants’.
My reason for bringing this committee together is the fact that it is important in all walks of life to give back to your local community. From a business perspective it is also very important to ensure that your organisation's corporate responsibility is met. There was also a personal reason as there is a family history of heart disease.
A total of four individuals all with different business backgrounds have joined forces with the sole goal of raising these funds.
These include:-
Paul Flatt, National Manager, Cannon Hygiene, Treasurer
Paul Flatt is one of the organisers of the Annual Saints with Heart Appeal to the town's rugby supporters to raise funds for the British Heart Foundation which has raised close to £100,000 over the past 8 years. He lives in central Northampton.
In 'real life' Paul is a Logistics Manager employed by the OCS Group - one of the UK's leading providers of support services to the public and private sectors.
Paul says - "Saints with Heart came about when three of our fellow Saints supporters suffered heart attacks in rapid succession in 2001. Two of them have survived, but the third - Mark Coleman who we all loved, died from a second attack in 2008. For Saint supporters, our support for the work of the BHF has a very personal meaning. Over the eight years of our work I've met dozens of rugby supporters who have been affected by heart disease and their gratitude encourages me and my colleagues to keep these much needed funds flowing to the BHF."
Several people close to Derek have suffered heart complaints with varying degrees of severity. He wanted to give something in recognition of these people. He also wanted to give some of his time to help his community and felt this cause with its goals matched his own "heart" felt love for life.
Derek works across all the major television productions providing brands as branded props to give the artificial world of television sets a degree of reality. He likes to visit the major sets on a frequent basis providing their needs as efficiently as is possible.
Isobel Mann, Solicitor, Lamb & Holmes
Isobel is a Private Client Solicitor who has worked locally in this area for around 10 years. Day to day work involves the preparation of Wills and Trust, the administration of estates and trusts, Court of Protection and Power of Attorney work, residential care issues and the preservation of wealth. She is a member of the Law Society Probate Section and member of Solicitors for the Elderly and a Trustee of two local Northampton Charities, CAN and Tools for Self Reliance. She also work closely with the local Alzheimers Society in Wellingborough and East Northants.
Isobel got involved with the BHF as the work they do is close to her own heart losing her dad whilst at school 16 years ago to a sudden heart attack.