Family smash through fundraising milestone

A DUMFRIESSHIRE family has raised over £100,000 for charity in memory of a much-missed son and brother.

The family of David Hill have taken on a variety of challenges and fundraisers for charity Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY), following David’s sudden passing in 2022.

Their most recent efforts include the Red Bow Ball, held at The Cairndale Hotel and Spa earlier this month, which raised a staggering £19,000, whilst the recent ‘Break the Cycle’ challenge by St George’s Church resulted in a cheque for £4050.

All the funds have been used to schedule free cardiac screenings at venues throughout the region, with the next event taking place on April 18–19 2026 in Dumfries.

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FOR DAVID . . . from left to right Rodger Hill, Lesley Hill, Sharon Duncan and Gordon Duncan[/caption]

Since reaching the impressive milestone, David’s parents Rodger Hill and Sharon Duncan want to thank everyone who has supported them. They said: “We want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported us in our fundraising and awareness-raising campaigns.

“Our amazing fundraisers have climbed mountains, held charity rugby and football matches, cycled from Scotland to Ireland, ran marathons, held golf and snooker competitions, jumped out of planes, held quiz nights, music afternoons, sold cakes, had sweepstakes, held spooky walks, donated retiring collections, professional fees and amazing raffle prizes, held dinners and balls, Christmas fayres, non-uniform days, fantasy football leagues and supported us as their nominated charity. Every pound helps save a life.”

The family continues to campaign to urge the Government to radically rethink its approach to specialist cardiac screening in the UK. Their goal is to reduce the incidence of young people dying from often-preventable conditions that cause sudden cardiac death.

The pair added: “We, and CRY believe that every young person from the age of 14 to 35 should have access to free, expert cardiac screening and that young people and their parents should be given a choice to be screened.

“Since David’s death almost four years ago, over 2300 families have had to experience the pain, anguish, and grief that we have endured. That is a pain that is preventable with screening.”