A LOCAL woman who has raised more than £50,000 over 20 years for Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) and has hosted many heart screenings for the charity, held her final screening event at Oakfield Academy in Frome earlier this month where 100 young people in Frome booked in.
Shirley Wort began fundraising and hosting heart screening sessions following the sudden death of her son, Julian, who was 28 years old when he died from a previously undiagnosed heart condition in March 2000.
Screening sessions have been held in Frome over the years and on Saturday 18th March, she held her fifth and final session at Oakfield Academy.
“We are so grateful for everyone’s support, people have been so kind,” she said. “We were due to hold this final Frome event three years ago but the Covid pandemic meant we couldn’t do that. Then all the doctors got called into the hospitals in 2021 to help, so we re-booked it for this year and the turn-out has been amazing.
“We have reached a real milestone by fundraising for 20 years. Thank you so much to everyone who has helped fundraise and coordinate the screenings and thank you to my friend Paula Smart who has been helping all these years.”
Ensuring the screenings run smoothly, screening manager Jason Baker said, “I have been working for CRY for seven and a half years, it’s a really great cause doing such fantastic work. I really enjoy it and we’ve had such a fantastic turn out in Frome.”
Shirley will now take a step back from hosting screening days and specific fundraising events but will continue to support CRY and raise awareness about the importance of young people having their hearts screened.
