CHILDREN affected by heart conditions across the Midlands are set to get a helping hand thanks to a Halesowen letting agency.

Kavanagh & Co Lettings teamed up with Birmingham-based charity Little Hearts Matter, who work with families to reduce the isolation, fear and lack of understanding created when a child is diagnosed as having half a working heart.

Other than offering corporate support to the worthwhile cause, Kavanagh & Co has a personal reason for giving the charity its backing.

Poppy, the first granddaughter of the agency’s owner Tom Kavanagh, was born recently with a rare heart condition, and he said the charity’s support to his family has been “invaluable”.

Tom said: “My son Sean – who also works for the company – and his partner Lauren recently gave birth to my first grand-daughter Poppy.

“Poppy has hypoplastic left heart syndrome which occurs in approximately 1 in 5,000 babies and means Poppy essentially has half a heart.

“Sean and Lauren were given this news during Lauren’s pregnancy and the support Little Hearts Matter has offered Sean and Lauren through this turbulent time has been invaluable.

“The support will continue to be there for Sean, Lauren, Poppy and the whole family and we at Kavanagh & Co Lettings wanted to give something back by raising money for this wonderful charity.”

The firm has pledged to donate £5 from every property that it lets, as well as stage a number of fundraising events thought out the year, in aid of Little Hearts Matter.

Little Heart Matter’s fundraising manager Ian Carr said: “We are delighted at the news that Kavanagh & Co Lettings is supporting us this way.

“We rely on financial support from organisations like Kavanagh & Co to continue to do our work in supporting children with single ventricle heart conditions and their families, so it is greatly appreciated and we look forward to working with Tom and the team.”