Launching in 2009, Heart Research UK and Subway® have been in partnership for 13 years and have raised over £1 million for local communities across the UK. The purpose of the partnership was based on the mutual commitment of both organisations to support local communities who needed more heart health intervention.
The money raised throughout the partnership was spent on Healthy Heart Grants throughout the UK. These grants enabled grass root organisations to access the funding needed for new, original and innovative projects that actively promoted a healthy heart and helped prevent, or reduce, the risk of heart disease in areas where the provision for such learning, understanding and application wasn’t available.
In many areas of social deprivation there are little or no resources for teaching people about their heart and the importance of living a healthy life. In these communities, obesity is more prevalent. The partnership between Subway® and Heart Research UK aimed to change this. The Healthy Heart Grants were given where they were needed most, to local groups with in-depth knowledge of the needs of their area, benefitting the people most at risk of heart disease.
The people who benefit from these grants have often not had the opportunity to learn about their heart or how to reduce their risk of heart disease. The learnings have been invaluable to them and also their family and friends who have learned from them. Simple provisions such as cooking classes for adults with learning difficulties or walking and exercise groups for the blind have significantly improved the quality of life for participants.
Subway® franchisees got heavily involved with the partnership and their enthusiasm towards the work they were funding was fantastic and really inspiring. Each store had a collection box and many engaged with the Healthy Heart Grants which ran in their local communities. Some staff even got involved in the grants process and sat on the panel to help shortlist the applications and assist with making the final decisions. They gave an external perspective on the projects and a different point of view to the Heart Research UK team.
The biggest Subway® fundraiser throughout the 13 years of the partnership was the Subway Helping Hearts Family 5Ks, which were launched in 2011. The series of 5K runs gave local families in each of the Subway® regions the chance to enter a race where everyone could take part and enjoy. Buggies, dogs and even wheelchairs made their way around the course before participants enjoyed entertainment and a healthy Subway lunch at the end. They were incredibly popular with the highest turnout being 2,500 runners at one of the Belfast events!
After 13 fantastic years, the partnership has now come to an end and Heart Research UK would like to offer their huge thanks and sincere gratitude to all the team at Subway for everything they have helped the charity achieve.
Kate Bratt-Farrar, Chief Executive at Heart Research UK, said:
“Being partnered with a huge global brand like Subway® for such a long period has been an absolute pleasure. They raised over £1million throughout the partnership and thanks to them we’ve been able to support thousands of people across the country, helping them live healthier, happier and longer lives. The team at Subway® did more than just fundraise, they fully integrated themselves in the partnership and this is one of the reasons it was such a long and successful relationship.
“Strategic partnerships like this are such a huge benefit to charities like ours. The shared social mission of both organisations created the level of ambition needed to raise the money and reach the thousands of people who really needed our help.
“Without Subway®, our healthy heart grants wouldn’t have been possible and we would like to offer our sincere thanks to them for allowing us to do so much more and help many more people.”
Beneficiaries of some our partnership projects have said:
“I can’t believe for seven years I have not been able to convince my child to eat a tomato and now he’s coming home excited telling me what he’s been making and even helping me cook at home. This is a fantastic opportunity. Thank you.”
‘’It’s been 55 years since I cycled but once you get out there and get cycling you feel 100% better for it. The Healthy Heart cycle project has made a big difference to me. It’s helped me be more active than I’ve been in years and I’ve lost just over 2 stone.”
The Subway® and Heart Research UK partnership has positively impacted on people being able to keep their loved ones around for longer, successfully reaching across diverse and hard to reach communities.
