We need you to help us beat heartbreak forever Welcome to the assembly that will help to fight heart disease. My name is…and I work for a charity called the British Heart Foundation or the BHF. The BHF is the nation's leading heart charity. We do all we can to help keep the hearts of men, women and children like you beating normally across the country. I'm here to tell you how we help save people's lives and how you can join the fight and help us try to cure heart disease too. INTERACTION - Ask the children to raise their hands if they know anyone with heart disease. Can they tell you what it is? We need you to help us beat heartbreak forever

Our Heart INTERACTION - Ask for people to volunteer if they know what a heart is? Our heart is like a CAR that we use every day, however the main part of the car that makes sure it works properly is hidden inside which nobody sees and works very hard to keep everything going is THE ENGINE. A car also needs PETROL that pumps around the engine to make it go! Our hearts work in the same way – our bodies need an engine which is the HEART - the most important part of the body. The heart is a muscle, like the muscles in your arms and legs, the heart needs to become strong as you grow up as it has a very busy job to do as a PUMP, its job is to pump our petrol – THE BLOOD all the way from the top of your head to the end of your toes and back again to make your body work! INTERACTION - Ask the children how big they think the heart really is – Ask them all to make a fist – the heart is the size of their fist!

“ ” Calum's Story Thanks to Professor Gianni Angelini’s research, one day I may not need any more operations on my heart “ I’m ten and I’ve had a lot of operations already. I’ve spent months in hospital. When I was born they found out I had one artery in my heart where there should be two, and I needed surgery to fix it. I had to have another operation when I was four. I was in the hospital for four weeks. I then needed another operation when I was six. I missed lots of sports days at school, but last year I took part for the first time. I loved it. Mum says that thanks to BHF research, one day I might not need more operations on my heart. Calum Morris. Survivor INTERACTION - Ask the children if they think the heart ever stops? What about at night time – does it go to sleep as well? Sadly, some people have a heart that doesn’t work properly. Sometimes someone’s heart can stop beating. Other times babies can be born with hearts that don’t work properly. This is what happened to a little boy called Calum. He was born with one artery in his heart, instead of two. Calum’s mum and dad were told that he'd have to have an operation to make him feel better. When he was 4 years old; Calum had to have another operation and again when he was 6 years old. Calum missed his friends and sports days but he is now at school and at his last sports day he took part in the skipping and egg and spoon race. That would not have been possible without our very clever people called scientists who are doing research to try and find ways to make Calum better. ”

Scientists help doctors… we help scientists INTERACTION -  Ask the children what would they do if they were poorly? We would go to the doctors and they would give medicine to make you feel better, if you still don’t get better and are very poorly then you go to the hospital and the doctor tries to find out what is wrong with you by doing lots of tests and then tries to help. Doctors are very helpful – but sometimes they need help too – How do they know what medicine will work?   SCIENTISTS are clever people who find out how your body works and what medicine your body needs and will work to get you better, they tell the doctors what medicines will help. We help scientists to find out how hearts work and how to mend them. BUT it can cost lots of money to find out how hearts work. – Machines are expensive, they need special places called laboratories to work, they need special equipment and their work can take a long time. At the BHF, we help the scientists equip their offices which are called LABRATORIES and we help pay them to do their work. The work we have paid for so far has already helped doctors do things like give people new hearts or special tablets that can make their hearts better.

We need you to help us beat heartbreak INTERACTION - Ask the audience to raise their hands to see who would like to beat heartbreak with the BHF and help children like Calum to get better? Hopefully they should all say yes…. Ask them to say it louder till you get a ‘victorious’ YES … hopefully you should have lots of excited people all wanting to know how they can join in. There are lots of ways you could get involved such as: Taking part in our brand new sports day event ‘AllStar Games’ - a high energy, adrenaline filled sports day style fundraiser that’s suitable for all ages and abilities. Taking part in ‘Jump Rope for Heart’ – An exciting skipping challenge that can be held any time of year. Or you can do all sorts of different things too –like non-uniform days and wear it red day instead! Can you think of any other ways that you and your school could help children like Calum?   * Today, I would like you to join the fight   - without special children like YOU we would not be able to continue our vital work, saving and improving lives across your community.

Your support for the BHF will help us look after thousands of other hearts too. THANK YOU FROM CALUM – EMBEDDED IN PICTURE – RIGHT CLICK AND OPEN HYPERLINK https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eJtq_3OkMc Thank you for listening Thank you