This Heart Month, Anna Croghan, Head of Volunteering at British Heart Foundation, tells us how young people can get involved with the charity.

Image credit: British Heart Foundation (BHF)

Did you know February is Heart Month? This means there’s a big spotlight on all things heart health, so it’s an important time of year for us at British Heart Foundation (BHF).

Around 8 million people in the UK are currently living with cardiovascular disease (that’s the medical term for all conditions that affect the heart and circulatory systems). This includes children, young people, and adults of all ages.

At BHF, our goal is to fund ground-breaking research and medical breakthroughs to help prevent and treat cardiovascular disease and ensure everyone has a healthy heart for longer.

Volunteers at BHF play an incredibly important role in enabling us to do this, and we have lots of volunteering opportunities for young people doing their DofE Award. In the spirit of Heart Month, here’s a closer look…

Why volunteer with British Heart Foundation

Whether you’re doing your Bronze, Silver or Gold DofE Award, there are lots of ways you can volunteer for BHF.

As well as making a difference and supporting lifesaving cardiovascular research, volunteering for BHF is an opportunity to learn new skills and gain valuable experience to boost your CV. You might also discover new interests, develop existing ones, and boost your confidence and communication skills at the same time.

You can find out more on the BHF website’s ‘DofE Award’ page, where you can also look up volunteering opportunities in your area.

Reap retail rewards

If you are aged 17 or over you could volunteer in one of our shops. BHF is the UK’s leading charity retailer with 680 shops in total spread across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. You might even have one on your local high street! Items sold in our shops raise a significant amount of income for the charity, whether that’s pre-loved fashion, furniture, homeware or accessories. We also have an eBay store.

There are several retail volunteering roles to choose from, although what’s available can vary from shop to shop, as they are all a little bit different. You could get to see how things are run behind the scenes and help with listing items on our eBay shop or sorting donated items. Or you could flex your customer service skills by volunteering on the shop floor. We even have opportunities to help with designing window displays and curating collections too.

All our retail volunteering roles offer something rewarding and the chance to develop valuable skills. Charity shops play an important role in sustainability too; giving pre-loved and second-hand items a new lease of life prevents them from being sent to landfill. Good news for people’s pockets and for the planet!

Build event and communications skills

If you are not yet 17, you could still get involved with BHF community fundraising activities. Get creative and design an activity or event plan that will secure sponsorships from your friends, neighbours and local community to fund research at BHF! Being sponsored to do an activity for an hour a week over the period of the volunteering section counts towards your DofE Award, as it is

‘supporting a charity’. This could be a sponsored walk, run, cycle or swim – or something new and unique!

There are some guidelines that apply, so it’s important to do a bit of research before planning your fundraising challenge. For example, anyone under 18 will need their parent or guardian’s consent to carry out their chosen activity. Additionally, the Fundraising Regulator’s Code of Practice places restrictions on young people carrying out street collections. This means under-18s can’t carry out collections in public spaces for BHF.

There’s more info, as well as fundraising tips and ideas, on our ‘Fundraising ideas’ page. You can get in touch with any questions we can help with too.

Image credit: British Heart Foundation

How to look after your heart health

Whether part of your DofE or not, knowing and sharing how to look after heart health is a brilliant way to support BHF’s mission. There are certain heart conditions that can’t be prevented. However, research has also shown us that for many people, there is lots we can do to prevent heart problems developing as we get older – and when it comes to adopting a healthy lifestyle, it is never too early, or too late, to start. BHF Senior Cardiac Nurse, Ruth Goss, shares some top tips:

1. Eat a balanced diet

What we eat plays an important part in helping keep our hearts healthy. The main thing to think about is balance, making sure you’re eating a good range of foods with plenty of fruit, veg and fibre and healthy protein sources like fish, chicken, eggs, tofu and beans. Things like take-aways, ready-meals, biscuits and crisps tend to be higher in saturated fat and salt (which can lead to a higher risk of high blood pressure and high cholesterol when you’re older, if consumed in high quantities) so it’s best to enjoy those in moderation. Learning to cook meals from scratch is a great way to ensure they’re nutritious and healthy. There’s lots of ideas on the BHF ‘recipe finder’ if you’re keen to explore your inner chef!

2.Don’t smoke (or seek support to quit if you need to)

We know that smoking is harmful to health, especially for our lungs and heart. And there isn’t a ‘safe’ amount when it comes to smoking; the only way to avoid the harmful effects is not to smoke at all. But the good news is, if you already smoke, this harm can significantly reduce over time if you quit, and support is available. Quitting by yourself isn’t always easy, so ask your local GP, pharmacist, of even your school or college nurse about NHS ‘Stop Smoking’ services. They are there to help anyone who needs support, including teens and young people.

3. Make being physically active part of your everyday routine

Exercise and having an active lifestyle makes a huge difference to our health in many ways, including keeping our hearts healthy. The trick is to find activities you enjoy (that way you’ll look forward to it). Whether it’s dancing, swimming or jogging; martial arts, skating or sessions in the gym – it’s all about giving things a go and focussing on the feelgood factor. If you can, getting outside for a daily walk is a fantastic way to stay active.

Sign-up for BHF’s walking challenge

Keen to get more active? ‘Walk for Hearts’, BHF’s fundraising challenge for Heart Month, is a great way to work on your daily step goals. Participants can choose between three distance options – 28, 50 or 100 miles – to complete by the end of February. You’ll need to step to it: the closing date to sign-up is February 14th and you need to be 18 or over to register (under-18s can join in with the challenge informally with an adult). Everyone who signs up receives a free BHF T-shirt and mile tracker, plus tips and advice for fundraising. Find out more about BHF’s walking challenge.

British Heart Foundation is a DofE Approved Activity Provider (AAP). Find out more about AAPs.