Lord Jersey has been appointed as the patron of the British Heart Foundation’s (BHF) Jersey branch.
William Child-Villiers, the tenth Earl of Jersey, accepted the position as the charity celebrates its 60th anniversary. He was motivated to take the role as his father died from an undiagnosed heart condition in 1998 at the age of 49.
Lord Jersey told Channel Eye: “I’m very honoured to become patron of the BHF Jersey branch. This decision, like most of the patronages I undertake, was led by my personal connection with the organisation’s work.
“It was devastating to lose my father when he was still so young, but tragically it is an experience shared by thousands of other families every year”.
“The research that the BHF funds is critical to the creation of new treatments and the discovery of new cures. The work of their inspirational scientists is helping to save and transform the lives of millions of people here and around the world. I look forward to playing my part in making sure they can continue their work looking for the next research breakthrough.”
Ryan Williams, who recently joined the Committee in January 2021 in the role of chairman, said “We are thrilled to welcome Lord Jersey to the British Heart Foundation.
“The last year has been an incredibly tough one for the charity. The impact of the Coronavirus pandemic has had a devastating impact on the BHF’s fundraising. As a result, we expect that our investment in new research will fall by half this year, slowing the pace of scientific progress”.
“As lockdown restrictions ease, we are now in a position to develop fundraising events for the rest of the year, and for 2022 when the Jersey branch will be marking its fiftieth anniversary.”
Heart and circulatory diseases cause more than 160,000 deaths in the UK each year. There are around twice as many people are living with heart and circulatory diseases in the UK than with cancer and Alzheimer’s disease combined. The BHF is the largest independent funder of heart research in the UK.
