A million steps for the Somerville Foundation

By Richard Bird Snr.

This is my wonderful eldest son Richard W.J. Bird.

He is a retired banker who now, amongst other things, works with the Somerville Foundation as a Wellbeing Counsellor. For those that don’t know, it supports young people and adults who were born with a heart condition. Richard was born with congenital (malfunctioning from birth) heart problems having had three major heart operations aged just three, six and thirty-five years old. He has achieved a ‘near to’, normal life, achieving academic, sporting, professional career and family successes. He is married to Gill and has three grown up offspring. This would not have been possible without the N.H.S. especially The National Heart Hospital, and the consultant that has helped him, and many thousands of others, virtually from birth, JANE SOMERVILLE, the name of the Foundation.

The development in this field is phenomenal and we have seen with our own eyes progression that is virtually space age. For example, when we saw, about 50 years ago, the first pacemakers, they were being pulled around on trolleys with a huge battery leading to wires plugged into the heart. Now it’s the size of a small soap dish with a tiny battery that lasts for years, normally located under the collar bone and it only takes a local anaesthetic to remove and replace components, it’s miraculous.

Richard needs your help; he needs you to help fundraise.

This year he initiated, with a few friends and colleagues the campaign for ‘A million steps for the Somerville Foundation’, using this experience as a pilot so that next year in February, the month set aside for HEART MONTH across the world, we all can help fundraise for those in need. It’s worldwide but it’s also so very local with the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital having a specialist department. Please support Richard, more details will be coming forward but, in the meantime, if you are participating in any virtual or real fundraising events could you nominate the Somerville Foundation as your preferred charity? If you are proposing to put on an event, would you choose the Somerville Foundation as the charity you are supporting? Additionally, if you have any money-making schemes that will support the foundation then please get in touch, there is a JustGiving page and the Somerville foundation is a registered charity and has a website: www.thesf.org.uk

Please contact Richard Snr or Richard Jnr in the first instance, we are listening.

Our contact details are: richard.bird@thesf.org.uk or richard@richardbird.me.uk

STOP PRESS from Richard Jnr

The good news is that by the end of Week 1, we had already collectively walked over a million steps, over 500 miles, so that’s amazing. Walkers are taking part from all over the UK and as far away as Cyprus.

Our awareness and fundraising have been growing also, we are over £2,000 on JustGiving and you have been great in using Social media, #millionsteps. The link to our JustGiving page is here, PLEASE SHARE IF YOU CAN.

1 Million Feb Footsteps - JustGiving

Please send me your total steps for February so far if you have the time. However, the most crucial thing is to send me your total steps when we get to the end of the month. Let’s see what record we have, to try to beat next year.

For general interest with the article, the latest edition of GUCH news has just been sent out electronically. Includes a piece from yours truly (page 17).

Link here:

GUCH-News-Issue-98-Spring-21.pdf (thesf.org.uk)