In 2018, we hosted our annual 5K for Hayden’s 6th Birthday, TWO summer Golf outings – one in Pennsylvania, and one in New Jersey with The Madison Rose Heart Project – and our ‘Heart of Gold’ Gala in New Jersey took place just this past October.
With over 1000 people in a cumulative attendance and over $140K raised, we are once again left humbled by the unconditional support and outpouring of LOVE for not only Hayden but the entire CHD community. Each of these events honored a heart warrior and family and a portion of the proceeds from each event was donated to that family.
Along with these events, we also hosted three retreats – two of our 'Healing of the Heart' retreats – each supporting 25 mothers who have lost a child to a CHD, and our first ever couples retreat – Woven – for couples who have lost a child to a CHD. We are looking forward to expanding our reach to others in this community in 2019.
We sent 100 ‘Hayden’s Favorite Things’ care packages in March to pediatric cardiac hospitals on the east coast in honor of Hayden’s 6th birthday and donated $10,000 to heart families across the country for hospital bills, hotel stays, and other expenses that pop up unexpectedly when caring for a heart warrior.
Our Grieving Hearts care packages support families suffering the loss of a heart warrior and this year we sent out over 100 in less than 10 months. We continue to send our love to these families and know that the journey ahead is difficult.
Hayden’s Holiday also supports the loss community – this past year we sent 5 families on getaways with loved ones – including Great Wolf Lodge in Niagra Falls, American Girl store and Great Wolf Lodge in Minnesota, the Monterrey Bay Aquarium in California, Wild Dunes Resort and Tybee Island - both in South Carolina.
Our 2018 Giving Tuesday was a smashing success - we raised over $10,000 in just ONE DAY!! This campaign supported Hayden's House of Healing - our newest endeavor in which we are raising funds to purchase our own retreat house to host retreats year round for all grieving the loss of a child.
With all that being said, we feel 2018 was HUGE in accomplishing our mission of supporting families affected by Congenital Heart Defects and we are so grateful to YOU for playing an integral part in making all of this happen. Each and every time someone donates to Hayden’s Heart – whether monetarily or of their time – it makes a MASSIVE impact on the families we support and we are forever grateful to each and every one of you for your dedication to our mission and to Hayden's legacy. He lives on in us and through us...
