Mosque raises £2000 for British Heart Foundation

The donation was collected at Masjid - E – Sajedeen. Members wanted to support the nation’s heart charity because of the work it does in the town and also for people in some South Asian groups in the UK, the risk of dying early from coronary heart disease is twice as high as for the general population.

Haji Amad, General Secretary OF Masjid E Sajedeen, said: "It was very touching to read in the local paper about the work the British Heart Foundation has been doing in the area such as funding the important 3D Echocardiograph machine at the Royal Blackburn Hospital.

"The BHF aims to save lives and increase survival rates amongst patients and I hope our small donation will go a long way."

In February, Blackburn with Darwen signed up as one of the first 50 places in the UK to be a BHF Heart Town.

Heart Towns are a new from the nation’s heart charity that brings entire communities together through local fundraising and volunteering to help beat heart disease.

As well as raising awareness of heart disease in Blackburn, the BHF will be offering residents a raft of support services including, schools initiatives, workplace health and health and lifestyle information resources.

Barbara Dunn, BHF Fundraising and Volunteer Manager in Lancashire, said: “It is wonderful to receive this donation from the members of Masjid - E – Sajedeen Mosque and I would like to thank them from the bottom of my heart.

“I gave a presentation to the members about the life-saving work we do and how exciting it is for Blackburn with Darwen to be a Heart Town. I was made to feel very welcome and it was lovely to meet everyone.

“Without the support of groups like this, we wouldn’t be able to continue with our ground-breaking research. I would welcome the opportunity to work with any other mosques in the area who would like to take advantage of the work we are doing as a Heart Town.”

To support the BHF, contact Barbara Dunn on 01772 641870 or email dunnb@bhf.org.uk