Flight Attendants take off for the Heart Charity

Students on the Cabin Crew course at Bournemouth & Poole College put on their best smiles last month as they walked eight miles in the rain to help raise cash for the British Heart Foundation.

Leading the way was their teacher, Maria Ballam, from Wimborne. Maria has been doing the fundraising walk since 2007 in memory of her father, Nick, who died suddenly of a heart attack. She calls it the 'In the Nick of Time Walk'.

Maria and nine students took part this year, walking from the college down to Bournemouth Pier, along the beach and back again - a total of eight miles on 16 February. They hope to raise over £500 in sponsorship this year for the British Heart Foundation, bringing the total raised by Maria over the last 4 years to over £3,000.

"While it's a deeply personal thing for me to remember my dad in this way, it's also an opportunity for me to send important messages to my students, their friends and families." says Maria, "Judith Grandjean, a friend and colleague has supported me on the walk every year since I started and this year was no exception. I also had my sister, Clare and my two children Lucy 10 and Tom 9 walking with me. It was great to have so much support. We can all do something more to take better care of our own hearts and we can all do something to help BHF continue their invaluable work in supporting heart patients, providing equipment and support, and doing pioneering research."

BHF Fundraising Volunteer Manager, Zoe Nicholson said: "We're really grateful to Maria and her students for her support. People often get involved with BHF because a loved one has been lost due to heart disease, or they have a condition themselves. However, as February is National Heart Month, we're making a special appeal to everybody to join us and become part of our Red for Heart campaign. You'll be playing a key role in helping to spread the word and raise essential funds to help us beat heart disease."

If you are interested in fundraising for the British Heart Foundation by organising a Wear Red Day or another event, please contact Zoe Nicholson on 01202 716820 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it '; document.write( '' ); document.write( addy_text86021 ); document.write( '<\/a>' ); //--> This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it