The woman with a big heart: Eileen's half a century of charity and community work
Eileen Jones was a young mother-of-three when she helped to set up a Bryncrug branch of the British Heart Foundation (BHF) in 1973. More than 50 years later, she's still working tirelessly for the charity and has raised tens of thousands of pounds from events such as coffee mornings, skittles evenings and car boot sales. "I'm not sure of the total figure, but I do know that since 2015 alone we've raised more than £60,000 - which is pretty good for a small community in Wales," she says. Earlier this year, Eileen's dedication was recognised with a second BHF gong (the first was from BHF Cymru a few years ago) at a ceremony in London, where she was presented with a Community Fundraising Volunteer - 2025 Finalist award. "Out of 1,200 nominees, only 18 volunteers were given awards - and I was the only one from Wales," she says proudly. One might imagine that fundraising consistently for one charity would be enough, but no! Eileen was also involved for s...
