Hearts of Hope

Many of you, by now, have heard me mention the support group for local families of children born with congenital heart defects, Hearts of Hope. I was only made aware of this group after I met fellow heart mommy, Michelle. She informed me of this group, linked me to their blog, for which I am super grateful. I had been trying to find a local CHD group for quite a bit of time, and the closest group I could find was in Southern California. So when Michelle informed me of this group, I was super happy and excited! HOH has monthly meetings, often with guest speakers offering valuable knowledge. Along with the monthly meetings, the group often has outings, King's games, Rivercat's, trips to the Zoo, etc, that they work hard at getting DONATED, so all families in the group have a chance to experience these things with their children, as well as allow their children to befriend kids *just like them*.

Since then, which was probably less than a year ago, Michelle and I have been asked to become the coordinators for the Hearts of Hope Care Package Program. Michelle and I were very honored and eager to get started on this program and become a part of something so amazing. The care packages go out to heart families facing a new diagnosis, hospitalizations, surgeries, or having difficulties following surgeries/procedures. Michelle and I have put on our thinking caps and brainstormed a few ideas that we hope will make these packages even more valuable and useful to the families in need, and thanks to some extremely generous donations and hard work of the group, many of these ideas are happening!



Right now our packages consist of:

* Logo tote bags
* Aluminum water bottles
* Note pad and pen
* Tissues
* Various toiletries
* Beanie babies
* Blankets
* Healthy and energizing snacks for the parents/siblings

An ongoing list of needs for our care packages to succeed and continue:

* toiletries (ie -individual toothbrushes(adult and child sizes), travel size toothpaste, shampoo/conditioner, body wash, hand sanitizer, disposable razors, scrubby puffs, brush/comb, etc
* puzzle books(crossword, word search, sudoku, etc)
* disposable cameras
* non-perishable, healthy, single serving snacks
* phone, gas, grocery store gift cards

If you have any further ideas for these packages, we are open to suggestions, especially if you are a parent facing such hospitalizations. If you would like to donate, join the group, or become involved in any way, please visit the group page(which clicking on the title of this entry will take you to) or contact me directly.

Thank you!

Heart hugs,
Jen Bolima