The Hospital Saturday Fund AGM May 2019
The Hospital Saturday Fund AGM took place on Thursday, 9 May 2019 at Guildhall, London.
A grant cheque for £20,000 was presented to the guest speaker, broadcaster and stroke survivor Chris Tarrant OBE, who was representing the Stroke Association. This grant will go towards several of the Stroke Association’s projects, such as their research programme and the Childhood Stroke Support Service.
Stroke is one of the greatest health challenges of our time. Every 5 minutes stroke destroys lives. When you have a stroke part of your brain shuts down, and so does a part of you. As the UK’s leading stroke charity, the Stroke Association is here to support people to rebuild their lives after stroke. They are driven by the vision of a world where there are fewer strokes and all those affected by stroke get the help they need to live the life they want.
To achieve this, the Stroke Association provides specialist support, funds critical research and campaigns to make sure people affected by stroke get the very best care. They support 50,000 people affected by stroke through our locally commissioned services and currently have nearly 200 local support groups across the country. Thanks to the FAST campaign, more people now get vital emergency treatment. The Stroke Association have also approved £55 million of vital stroke research in the last 20 years, which has helped to transform rehabilitation practices and halve the number of fatal strokes. However, the number of stroke survivors continues to rise. There are currently over 1.2 million stroke survivors in the UK. This number is expected to double to over two million by 2035.
Chris Tarrant, OBE - Chris is one of Britain’s most recognisable and long standing broadcasters. He hosted the Capital Radio breakfast show for 20 years and then went on to present ITV1’s hugely successful Who Wants To Be A Millionaire from 1998 to 2014. Later in his career, he has fronted travel programmes for Channel 5, including Extreme Railways, a series which has taken him all over the world. In 2014, on a flight from Bangkok to London, Chris had a stroke. He describes it as “the single most terrifying moment of his life”. He has since made an excellent recovery and continues to be one of the Stroke Association’s most loyal and committed high profile supporters. He has presented the Life After Stroke Awards, meeting dozens of fellow stroke survivors, as well as supporting campaigns and fundraising events. Chris’s children, many of whom have followed him into broadcasting, are also much valued supporters of the charity. Chris lives in Berkshire with his partner Jane.
Louise Kent
