YOUR VIEWS: Thanks to the people of Inverness, words from the past and charity appeals
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Go Red to help heart charity this month
You can Go Red to raise money for pioneering research this Heart Month, and learn the lifesaving skill of CPR – helping to protect the hearts of your loved ones, your community and many others too.
By fundraising for the BHF this Heart Month, you can help get us closer than ever to a world free from the fear of heart and circulatory diseases.
Whether it’s a coffee morning, an office dress-up day or a heart-themed quiz, red is an easy theme to have some fun with and raise vital funds for research.
With heart and circulatory diseases affecting around twice as many people in the UK as Alzheimer’s and cancer combined, we urgently need your help to fund the cures of tomorrow.
You can also learn CPR for free in just 15 minutes using the BHF’s online training tool, RevivR. Using just a cushion and a phone, you could learn the skills to help save a loved one’s life in the event of a cardiac arrest.
For ideas on how to fundraise this Heart Month, or to learn lifesaving CPR through RevivR, visit bhf.org.uk/heartmonth
April Davidson
Scotland regional fundraising manager – British Heart Foundation
Power of words down the generations
With reference to Nicky Marr’s column in Friday’s Courier, my mother always said: “Love many, trust a few, but always paddle your own canoe!”
A wee bit different, but perhaps more positive? Unless you are sharing, of course!
Margot Kerr
Inverness
Think about walking in fight against cancer
Breast Cancer Now’s Pink Ribbon Walks are back and I want to encourage your readers to step forward and sign up for a 10 or 20-mile walk.
I know just how vital Breast Cancer Now’s research and support is for those affected. Last year, I took part in a Pink Ribbon Walk with my beautiful friend Kate, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in April 2020. Soon after her diagnosis, scans found that the disease had spread to her bones. Kate is now living with secondary breast cancer, which is incurable. At the picturesque Blenheim Palace, I walked with Kate for everyone affected by this devastating disease.
This year, Pink Ribbon Walks are taking place at Hampton Court Palace (London) on Sunday, April 28, Blenheim Palace (Oxfordshire) on Saturday, May 11 and the Bakewell Showground (Derbyshire) on Saturday, June 22. The walks are perfect for new walkers and seasoned hikers alike, and walkers will be cheered on by Breast Cancer Now volunteers along the route.
I met Kate when we both had newborn kids. Then three years ago, when I was taking part in Strictly, I was given two tickets to invite friends to the studio. I asked my cherished friend Kate and her husband Darren to come. Kate had been diagnosed with breast cancer and it was terrifying, nobody knew what the coming months would bring.
When I walked down those Strictly steps and saw Kate and Darren’s faces in the crowd, I felt so emotional that they were both there for me.
Over the last three years, as well as raising two precious, confident daughters, dealing with secondary breast cancer and returning to work as a teacher, Kate has raised so much money for Breast Cancer Now and has been a keen participant in the Pink Ribbon Walks.
The Pink Ribbon Walks are an amazing opportunity to help people up and down the country like Kate who have felt the impact of this terrible disease.
As you explore the wonderful locations, you can stride in the knowledge that you’re supporting the many people, families and communities that face the challenges of breast cancer each and every day.
By supporting Breast Cancer Now and taking part in a Pink Ribbon Walk, I felt like I was doing my bit to help those undergoing treatment and those who’ll need it in the future.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the UK. Every 10 minutes someone in the UK hears the words “you have breast cancer”.
Breast Cancer Now are moving towards a vision that by 2050, everyone diagnosed with breast cancer lives, and is supported to live well. Pink Ribbon Walks are helping to make this possible by raising money for world-class research and life-changing support services, helping thousands living with breast cancer across the UK.
Up for a challenge?
Take on a Pink Ribbon Walk and help fund life-changing research and support with every step.
Join Breast Cancer Now at a Pink Ribbon Walk this summer, to create hope with every step. Sign up today at breastcancernow.org/prw to provide support for today and hope for the future.
Ranvir Singh
Breast Cancer Now supporter
Campaigner’s ‘heartfelt thanks’ to Inverness
A campaigner who slept rough in Inverness to raise awareness of addiction and homelessness thanked everyone who welcomed him to the city. Richie Roncero (39) is the founder of Steps to Hope, a charity which supports people in addiction.
“Your experience of the bridge (Richie posted on social media how he was not a fan of Inverness’s Infirmary Bridge) brought me right back to when I landed homeless in Inverness after losing a live-in job in a neighbouring village. Ha ha, I nearly fainted, but thankfully at the end of that bridge was my journey to my forever home, but I avoided that bridge on a daily basis and opted for the longer route. My reaction was exactly like yours. Well done, you’re a saint for highlighting homelessness and its perils, wobbly bridge included.” – Lisa, Inverness
“Homelessness – and rough sleeping in particular – is no joke, esepecially at this time of year. Well done to Richie drawing attention to this.” – Hugh Morgan
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