When my daughter Charlotte was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect at 9 weeks old and needed urgent surgery, the support of ECHO was invaluable. Once Charlotte had recovered from the surgery I wanted to give something back, so offered to volunteer for the charity.

As my background is in public relations I thought I could use my skills in PR and over the last five years as a PR and Marketing volunteer, I’ve helped ECHO get publicity for various events and fundraising activities. I enjoy giving my time to the charity so they can help more heart families in their time of need.

I’ve had a tremendous amount of support and the staff are helpful and friendly. I’ve been on various training courses and there are volunteer events where you can get to know other volunteers and learn more about the charity’s current strategy and focus, which makes you feel part of the team.