Charity, Weymouth | Posted on January 2nd, 2026 | return to news

Weymouth man appointed by charity close to his heart

Matthew Cornick from Weymouth has been appointed events and corporate fundraiser by a charity that is, quite literally, close to his heart.

Born with a leaking aortic valve, Matthew has undergone 13 gruelling open-heart surgeries and wanted to give back to cardiac charity, Heartbeat, that supported him and his family. He has recently been appointed as the charity’s events and corporate fundraiser.

At age 15 while staying at the E1 heart ward at University Hospital Southampton, Matthew wanted to know who was behind some of the hospitals facilities, like the teenage room and ward decorations, which made anxious teen Matthew feel much more at home, and he was introduced to Heartbeat’s operations manager, Tina Richardson. From that day he vowed to raise as much as he could to say thank you – and he has done that in abundance.

Now 31, Matthew has spent the last 16 years raising money for Heartbeat, as well as volunteering, speaking and acting as the charity’s ambassador.

He is proud to be Heartbeat’s new events and corporate fundraiser and will be using his previous background in finance across his work as well as bringing in vital revenue for the charity and heading up corporate partnerships.

“Heartbeat has been a huge part of mine and my family’s lives and I wanted to do something to give back,” said Matthew. “I’ve lived personal experience of the charity and I’ve also met many other patients and families that have benefited from the exceptional work that Heartbeat does to support patients and families.”

Matthew’s parents, who also live in Weymouth, stayed at the charity’s Heartbeat House, a home-from-home where patients’ relatives can stay for free within three minutes’ walk of the hospital, so that they don’t have to worry about extensive travel or hotel costs.

“The fact that my parents were able to stay at Heartbeat House meant they didn’t have to worry about being too far away during my treatment,” he said. “My longest stint in hospital was five weeks and as you can imagine, hotel bills can rack up quickly if you want to stay nearby – but Heartbeat took all the stress out of that experience for them.”

Despite his health journey, Matthew keeps active. He is a keen golfer, musician and likes to swim three times a week.
“Heart health is so important,” he added. “It’s something that affects us all either personally, or we know someone who has had a heart condition. But staying active is another important message of the charity that I really believe in, and I can’t wait to get stuck into my role.”

Tina Richardson, head of operations at Heartbeat, said: “To have someone on board who can speak from personal experience really means something, and, since the age of 15, Mathew has worked with us to raise funds and spread the word about the work we do. We’re so pleased to officially welcome Matthew to the team.”