BCF celebrates more than 800 disused phone boxes being transformed into life-saving defibrillator stations with Community Heartbeat Trust at fourth annual Charity Cycle

On Friday 28th June, the British Coatings Federation (BCF) held its fourth annual charity bike ride in support of the Community Heartbeat Trust (CHT), starting at their office in Coventry before covering the breadth of the local Warwickshire countryside. This year’s event raised just under £20,000 for CHT and the BCF have now contributed more than £120,000 through fundraising and paint donations from members, which have transformed more than 800 unused iconic red phone boxes into life-saving defibrillator stations through the Minutes Matter campaign.

This year’s event had a total of 66 riders, who took part in one of three distances: 35km, 52km or 100km. BCF participants have now cycled a total of 18,150km, a distance equivalent to travelling from London to Taiwan and back.

The Community Heartbeat Trust, by repurposing thousands of decommissioned and unused red phone boxes, aims to preserve the lives of 60,000 people, that is half of those who suffer from cardiac arrest every year. For every minute that someone in cardiac arrest is not receiving CPR or the assistance of a defibrillator, their chance of survival decreases by 10%. The UK Resuscitation Council suggests a defibrillator should be no more than five minutes away from wherever medical treatment is required.

Tom Bowtell, CEO of BCF, said: “I am extremely proud of the work we do with the Community Heartbeat Charity, after over a decade of partnership through the Minutes Matter campaign. This has given over 800 communities across the UK access to a potentially life-saving defibrillator, as well as giving a new lease of life to iconic red phone boxes found in most villages. I want to thank our riders for taking part in our Charity Cycle and our members for their kind and generous contributions.”

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Martin Fagan, National Secretary of the CHT said: “Once again, the Community Heartbeat Trust charity (CHT) is immensely grateful to BCF for their fundraising efforts supporting CHT. In past years we have used these funds to provide free training courses to the public to help increase awareness of Cardiac Arrest and how this should be treated. Many thousands have attended the courses sponsored by BCF and their members, and a very big thank you for all your support.

Cardiac Arrest is sudden and potentially life-threatening. Its survival is through the implementation of a story called the ‘Chain of Survival’ – five stages you go through to save a life. (1) Recognise help is needed; (2) Call 999; (3) start chest compressions; (4) use a defibrillator; (5) send to hospital. Education is needed to understand each stage and why it is important to link these together. It’s not just about a defibrillator. Your funds will help train more people, and really make a difference.”

The BCF would like to thank everyone who has taken part in this year’s Charity Cycle and donated. If you would still like to donate, you can do so on JustGiving here: https://www.justgiving.com/page/ridewarwickshire2024

A special thanks to sponsors AkzoNobel, BioCote, Cogent Skills, Dacrylate Paints, INX International UK, Merck Group, Tronox and UPOL, whose support of BCF’s Charity Cycle Ride is invaluable.

To read more about the campaign, and find a defibrillator near you, visit www.minutesmatter.org.uk.