Youth At Heart: Exciting news for our 10th Year Anniversary Year.

Having lived with Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) for 22 years, Lucinda Field and her family had an innate understanding of the challenges associated with this poorly understood condition. When Alice, their much-loved daughter, sister and granddaughter, died in 2013, they felt they had to do something to support others living with CHD.

Alice’s family created our charity, Youth at Heart, in 2014 to provide that support. Whilst we appreciated what would have made a difference to Alice’s life, we knew we had to undertake further research to achieve a broader view of need, and after discussions with the Bristol Heart Institute, we funded and introduced a Youth Worker role, focused on the Southwest of England and South Wales.

Our ambition was to learn from this experience and then find a mechanism to roll out the initiative nationally, supporting all the key cardiac centres in the UK. It is clear to us that our Youth Workers have made a very real difference to the young people we support, and and their families, and feel it is the right time to move to the next stage.

Merger of Youth at Heart with Somerville Heart Foundation

We are delighted, and immensely proud, to announce that Youth at Heart and Somerville Heart Foundation (SHF) are coming together to realise our ambition. You can learn more about SHF at www.sfhearts.org.uk

SHF has a proven, exemplary, and national track record in supporting those with CHD, and coming together with Youth at Heart will enable them to expand their support for young people.

On 1st November 2024, Youth at Heart will merge with SHF by transferring our funds, our Youth Worker, Xander Patel-Cook, and all our ongoing services and activities to them. Xander will be employed by SHF, and all the funds we have raised will be ring-fenced to finance his ongoing activities. He will also support SHF to develop plans to take Youth Worker services to a broader geographic stage.

Lucinda Field (Founding Trustee at Youth at Heart) said; “I and the entire of Board of Trustees, on Alice’s behalf, are delighted to come together with SHF to realise our ambition. We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all those who have made this incredible achievement possible, giving selflessly of their time, loyalty, hard work and financial donations.”

Rob Nicoll (President of SHF) said; “We were delighted that Youth at Heart approached us with this idea, and we are very happy to continue to support the great work being undertaken in the Southwest England and South Wales. We hope to learn from their experience and duplicate this in other areas of the UK where we see the need.”

What does this mean for you?

It is very much business as usual. Xander will continue his support to young people and their families affected by CHD in the Southwest of England and South Wales. Xander can still be contacted on 07832 668907 or at Xander@youthatheart.co.uk

You can still contact the support team at contactus@youthatheart.co.uk. You can keep up to date on news via our Facebook and Instagram pages. Our website www.youthatheart.co.uk will remain in place. SHF will continue to use the Youth at Heart brand.

Youth at Heart as a stand-alone charity, will be closed in due course, with everything continuing within the SHF charity.

Importantly, you can continue to fundraise and donate to support the work of Youth at Heart within SHF.

Thank you!

The Youth at Heart trustees, on Alice’s behalf, would like to extend their heartfelt thanks to all those who have made this incredible achievement possible, giving selflessly of their time, loyalty, hard work, and financial donations.

Particular thanks to:

• The endless volunteers who have made it possible to run such amazing and successful fundraising events.
• The incredible number of local and national grant givers, who have appreciated what we are trying to achieve, and helped us fund it. Our special thanks to all who donated and climbed Ben Nevis in horrific weather conditions – everything you raised will continue to fund Xander’s work.
• The many people who have heard our story, touching our hearts with their personal and very generous donations.
• All current and historic trustees, but special thanks to Sheena Vernon, trustee and Lead Nurse CHD Network at University Hospitals Bristol & Weston NHS Foundation Trust, whose expertise, knowledge, networks, professional and personal understanding, has helped steer the charity to make a very real difference to those we support.

We are delighted that Sheena has accepted an invitation to join the SHF board of trustees to help them to embed everything we do.

Last but by no means least, we would like to thank the wonderful Youth at Heart staff team, past and present, who have constantly gone the extra mile to make a real difference. All have been exceptional and Xander, you are exactly who Alice would have chosen! Whilst Xander will continue his work within SHF, Nikki and Audrey, who have managed and administered the charity so brilliantly over the past couple of years will now transition their work to the SHF team, and we would like to thank them both for their contribution to realising our ambition.

Please watch for developments on www.sfhearts.org.uk as they build out their plans for a national service offering.

In the meantime, our heartfelt thanks to you all.

The Board of Trustees
Youth at Heart