A CHARITY which was recently founded after the death of a teenager has been chosen by the Mayor of Beaconsfield as his charity for the year.

The Alexander Jansons Foundation was set up last year following the death of the 18-year-old who lived in Beacon Hill, Penn.

Alexander, the son of Andy Jansons – the Managing Director of Beaconsfield-based developers Jansons Property –died suddenly last July from a heart condition called myocarditis, when he was on his way home from a night out.

Parents, Andy and Pam, and brother, Tomas, aim to raise a minimum of £80,000 a year for the next three years to fund research into the condition.

The family hope the research will provide early detection of those at risk, early initiation of treatment and improve clinical outcomes.

Mayor Steve Jones was approached by the family and he now says it is a charity which has got his full support.

He said: “With having the opportunity to be the mayor for a second time sprung on me this year I didn’t really have any time to prepare and research potential charities.

“It is always something which comes as a tough decision but when I was approached by them, I knew this was the perfect option.

“I decided this was the right option because it was a local and new charity. However, when they are able to raise money they will have an effect on a national scale.”

During his first tenure as the town’s mayor in 2006/ 07 Cllr Jones raised about £17,000 for charity, but he now wants to better that.

He added: “During the last time I was mayor I was lucky enough to raise a lot of money for charity – let’s hope we can raise even more this time.

“Fortunately, there are two members of the council who are involved in two big Beaconsfield based organisations.

“I am hoping with the help of Deputy Mayor John Reed (chair of Beaconsfield Roundtable) and Janet Simmons (chair of Beaconsfield Rotary club) the whole community will be able to get behind this charity.”

As well as hosting many planned events for the charity, including the Mayors Ball on Saturday, March 21, he is hoping to arrange for other events to boost their fundraising efforts.

If you would like to show your support for the charity, please contact Patricia Dean on 01494 679971 or you can email charity@alexanderjansonsfoundation.org