Hampshire charity appoints fundraiser with the cause close to his heart

Southampton cardiac charity Heartbeat has appointed a new Events and Corporate Fundraiser who keeps the charity, quite literally, close to his heart.

Matthew Cornick was born with a leaking aortic valve and has undergone 13 gruelling open heart surgeries, but he wanted to give back to the charity which supported him and his family.

At age 15 while staying at the E1 heart ward at University hospital Southampton, Matthew wanted to know who was behind some of the hospitals facilities, like the teenage room and ward decorations, which made anxious teen Matthew feel much more at home.

He was introduced to Heartbeat’s Operations Manager, Tina Richardson and from that day he vowed to raise as much as he could to say thank you – and he has certainly done that in abundance.

Now 31, Matthew has spent the last 16 years raising money for Heartbeat, as well as volunteering, speaking and acting as the charity’s ambassador.

He is now proud to be Heartbeat’s new Events and Corporate Fundraiser and will be using his previous background in finance across his work as well as bringing in vital revenue for the charity and heading up corporate partnerships.

Matthew said: “Heartbeat has been a huge part of mine and my family’s lives and I wanted to do something to give back.

“I’ve lived personal experience of the charity and I’ve also met many other patients and families that have benefited from the exceptional work that Heartbeat does to support patients and families.”

Matthew’s parents, who live in Weymouth, stayed at the charity’s Heartbeat House, a home-from-home where patients’ relatives can stay for free within 3 minutes’ walk of the hospital, so that they don’t have to worry about extensive travel or hotel costs.

“The fact that my parents were able to stay at Heartbeat House meant they didn’t have to worry about being too far away during my treatment” he said. “My longest stint in hospital was 5 weeks and as you can imagine, hotel bills can rack up quickly if you want to stay nearby – but Heartbeat took all the stress out of that experience for them.”

Despite his health journey, Matthew is still active and is a keen golfer, musician and likes to swim three times a week.

“Heart health is so important” he added. “It’s something that affects us all either personally, or we know someone who has had a heart condition. But staying active is another important message of the charity that I really believe in, and I can’t wait to get stuck into my role.”

Tina Richardson, Head of Operations at Heartbeat, said: “To have someone on board who can speak from personal experience really means something, and, since the age of 15, Mathew has worked with us to raise funds and spread the word about the work we do. We’re so pleased to officially welcome Matthew to the team.”