Joan Willett, a 106-year-old resident of a Hastings care home in the UK, has been awarded the Prime Minister’s Points of Light Award for her remarkable fundraising efforts for the British Heart Foundation (BHF).
During the pandemic lockdown, Joan walked up and down a steep hill outside her care home several times a day to raise funds for BHF, and her efforts have garnered over £60,000 in donations.
Joan is no stranger to the importance of heart research, having survived a heart attack at the age of 82 thanks to life-saving bypass surgery and heart valve replacement.
She started walking up and down the steep hill outside her care home as a means of staying fit and healthy. However, after watching Captain Tom Moore’s fundraising efforts on TV during the pandemic, Joan was inspired to use her daily exercise routine to support heart research, which she credits with enabling her to reach the age of 106.
Joan’s remarkable fundraising effort has now been recognised with the Prime Minister’s Points of Light Award, given to ordinary people who have done extraordinary things for their community. Her MP, Sally-Ann Hart, nominated her for the special award and presented her with her Points of Light Certificate signed by the Prime Minister on April 12th.
On receiving the prestigious award, BHF quoted Joan as saying: “It’s a huge surprise to receive this award from the Prime Minister and lovely that my MP thought of me and made the nomination. I feel very honoured and flattered, but I don’t think I have done anything special. During the pandemic, I was inspired by watching Captain Tom to do my walk for the British Heart Foundation because thanks to their research I have been able to reach the age I am and still enjoy life.”
Captain Sir Thomas Moore, aka, Captain Tom, was a British Army officer and fundraiser who made international headlines in 2020 when he raised money for charity in the run-up to his 100th birthday during the pandemic.
As she looks forward to celebrating her 107th birthday, Joan’s message to others is simple: “The best thing about all this – apart from raising the money to help others – was seeing how kind people have been. You only hear about the bad things in the world, but this has given me great faith in humanity.”
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first published: April 17, 2023, 03:30 IST
last updated: April 17, 2023, 04:10 IST
