Students and staff at the King Edward VI School, in Bury St Edmunds, are giving their support to the My WiSH Every Heart Matters Appeal.
And to kick start the fundraising 28 pupils took part in a sponsored walk from Melford Hall, in Long Melford, to Nowton Park, on the outskirts of Bury.
Youngsters from the school’s Melford College, aged 11 to 16, treked the 14 miles and with money still coming in hope to have raised over £500.
It was the first event of a number of initiatives being organised at the school in a bid to help raise £500,000 to build a brand new cardiac centre at the town’s West Suffolk Hospital.
The appeal needs to raise the money to support the build of a new cardiac diagnostic unit alongside the cardiac suite to create a fully integrated cardiac centre that will enhance the treatment of all cardiac patients.
The West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust is investing £5.2m in developing a state of the art cardiac suite that will provide quicker access to more treatments, but the £500,000 My WiSH is hoping to raise will lead to the whole unit, which is currently fragmented on different floors, being brought together in one purpose-built centre.
Rebecca Taylor, the head of Melford College, said: “Each year the college has a charity which it supports and we decided on the Every Heart Matters Appeal.
“All the students completed the walk from start to finish ... even the 11-year-olds. That’s our first event for the year and we will continue to raise more money over the coming months before handing it all over.
“It would be nice to think that we could get to £1,000 and I would be really pleased if we can raise that amount of money in the year.
“The hospital is there for everyone in the community that needs it. You never know when you may need to go there so that’s why we wanted to support the appeal.”
To support the Every Heart Matters appeal visit the website at www.mywishcharity.co.uk
Alternatively, if you would like to donate to the appeal you can do so by going to Justgiving.com/ehma
Donations can also be made by texting EHMA17 £10 to 70070.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here