SR Timber partners with the British Heart Foundation

SR Timber is to partner with the British Heart Foundation (BHF) to raise much-needed funds for the charity, which is the biggest independent funder of cardiovascular research in the UK.

The company – a leading supplier of roofing batten to builders merchants – is keen to develop a closer, longer-term relationship with the charity, having previously raised more than £5,000 in 2016 after two of its team climbed Mount Kilimanjaro.

The partnership is a move away from one-off, flagship fundraising events to a more consistent approach throughout the year where everyone at the company can get involved in a range of initiatives to raise money and also awareness around an issue – heart and circulatory disease still kills one in four people here in the UK.

SR Timber has appointed Steve Hill to the role of Heart Monitor to coordinate its fundraising activities for the charity, which holds poignant significance for staff.

Hill said that the partnership kicked off with a meeting involving everyone at the company and fundraisers from the BHF and explaining a calendar of activities, some of which involve joining in with BHF events and others on more-local levels, such as collecting clothes, toys and household items to keep local charity shops stocked up.

“Actively supporting charities has become an important part of the fabric of SR Timber, and we’ve got a good track record of raising large sums of money,” He said.

“Last year, a team from SR Timber took part in the Pavestone Rally – which raised money for the Teenage Cancer Trust and the Rainy Day Trust – but this year everyone said they wanted to go back to supporting the BHF because the work it does is very close to our hearts, which is why we’re looking to develop a longer-term partnership with the charity.

“We want to raise a lot of money but we’re also conscious that we don’t want to be seen as a company that keeps asking customers and suppliers to put their hands in their pockets, which is why we’re looking more broadly at things, part of which is education about heart disease and maintaining good heart health.”

SR Timber’s Trading Director Shaun Revill said that the first meeting with the BHF threw up some interesting parallels between roofing batten and the heart.

“Like the heart is to the body, roofing batten – such as our Premium Gold – is pivotal to the health and function of a roof,” said Revill. “You never see batten on a completed roof – but it’s still there doing an essential job, and quality batten can last for years and years.”

He added: “I’m really proud of the team for coming together to support the BHF, and everyone’s excited about what we can do in the coming months.”

The BHF funds research into all heart and circulatory conditions, including heart diseases, stroke and vascular dementia, along with risk factors including diabetes.

In the East Midlands alone, around 19,249 people devastatingly lose their lives to conditions including heart disease, stroke and heart failure every year.

The BHF wants a world without heart and circulatory diseases, so is funding vital research to keep hearts beating and blood flowing. Each year, the charity funds £100 million to find cures and treatments for these conditions.

BHF Fundraising Manager Derek Kilgariff is delighted that SR Timber is so keen to partner up with the charity, which is focused on beating heartbreak forever..

“We’re delighted that SR Timber wants to raise money for us and to increase awareness of heart disease, and it was a pleasure to be invited to its North Nottinghamshire HQ to meet the team and talk about ways we can work together,” he said.

“A future free from the heartbreak this disease causes, is only possible because of companies like SR Timber choosing to partner with the BHF and power our vital research. Without this there will be no more breakthroughs, no more hope for the seven million living with heart and circulatory disease, the world’s biggest killers.

With SR Timber’s support we are dreaming big – our Nottingham based BHF researchers are growing heart tissue in the lab, with the hope of using stem cells to regenerate damaged hearts. Thanks to SR Timber we will be able to keep more hearts beating in the East Midlands and be one step closer to beating heartbreak forever.”