Sunrise Radio marathon broadcasting event

While fundraising activities were still so limited earlier this year due to ongoing COVID-19 restrictions, one of our highlights of this four-month period came in late March with a special event. We have been partnered with Sunrise Radio since the start of 2020 as part of CRY’s 25th anniversary to help raise awareness of young sudden cardiac death, the importance of screening, and the work we are doing with on-air advertising and interviews. In March, one of their presenters, Anushka Arora, took on the challenge of hosting a 36-hour broadcast to help raise funds and awareness for CRY.

The broadcast included music, interviews with CRY doctors, families and young people whose lives had been saved by screening, and reminders of why it’s so important to support CRY and raise funds for screening.

“This unique media collaboration will spread awareness as much as it will raise funds for the cause,” Anushka said before starting the event. “We are long past the time when broadcasting was only limited to selling commercials and programming airtime. It has become a means to reach out to the masses and utilize it for the better of the mankind. My heart goes out to those who meet their tragic ends from an undiagnosed heart defect.”

Various guests joined through the broadcast to help push CRY’s key messages. CRY Ambassador and singer songwriter Arjun has been a supporter since the death of his wife Natasha, who died suddenly in 2018 from a previously undiagnosed heart condition when she was just 30 years old. Arjun made an appearance on the broadcast to show his support. Natasha’s sister, Dr Vanessa Sandhu, has also become a CRY supporter, and was interviewed about the impact of Natasha’s death. Other guests included doctors such as former CRY Research Fellow Dr Joyee Basu, and athletes like England Women’s cricketer Danielle Wyatt. CRY Chief Executive Dr Steven Cox also joined to see in the end of the broadcast and talk about the charity’s work and the impact of the pandemic.

Sunrise Radio Managing Director Tony Lit MBE (below) said the following about why the network is backing CRY: “Sunrise is now in its 32nd year of broadcasting to the South Asian community and over the years it has become much more than a source for entertainment but is also relied upon for important community messages, news and information. It’s absolutely vital that we do our bit in society and support charitable organisations like CRY. There can be nothing worse than losing a young life needlessly in our country in this day and age.”

This event was a fantastic way to raise awareness and raised £10,000 for CRY through donations from listeners. Dr Steven Cox spoke as the event came to a close:

“I would like to firstly say a huge thank you to Tony Lit. Tony agreed to become a CRY Ambassador after seeing the impact a young sudden death has and for the last 18 months he has done so much to help us raise awareness and funds for CRY as well as putting this idea forward. As well as Tony, I would like to thank everyone at Sunrise, Kay, Paul, Rajit for bringing this together.

“A big thanks to all your guests for supporting this and their kind words about CRY, in particular Arjun for agreeing to come on the show. Also Professor Sanjay Sharma and all the CRY doctors who talked about their work, as well as all the CRY families who shared their stories about the tragedies in their families which so sadly led them to becoming involved with CRY. Thank you to everyone who has donated and supported this campaign.

“But most of all I would like to thank Anushka. You are really quite incredible. I cannot put my hand on heart and say I listened to every minute, but I’ve been listening for more than 24 hours, and in that time my music horizons have expanded exponentially but I cannot believe you have come to the end of the broadcast with the same energy that you started. You are amazing and I know I speak for everyone out there when I say thank you, Anushka.

To listen to interviews from this event, you can go to c-r-y.org.uk/sunriseradio