We have been busy! Evan dressed up in his Army man costume and we went trick or treating Halloween night at a local church. He made the cutest little Army guy, don't you think?
We then took our annual trip to Huber's orchard with my Mom (Munc got to join us) and as you can see - Evan couldn't stop to take pictures - he loves playing on all the stuff when we go there. We love eating all the good food and buying some to take home!
Our support group, Team Brave Hearts has had a big year. There are 20 families that are involved in our little group and out of those 6 of them had kids that endured surgery since summer began, us being one of them. We have one little Brave Heart - Annie who was just admitted this past Thursday and put at the top of the transplant list. I don't know what I would do without these families and their support. We have all become so close and I'm so thankful for each of them. So... it's been busy for surgery reasons but also we as a team have been feeling the need for change so this year after many meetings and group talks, we shifted our focus and signed a contract with Kosair Children's Hospital Foundation. We have just begun our partnership with them and we are excited!!! We decorated our first tree as a team for the Festival of Trees and Lights - http://www.nortonhealthcare.com/body_kosair.cfm?id=1472. We think it turned out beautiful! Can't wait to here how much it sold for.
I attached our letter below - why isn't there an attach document feature on blogger??? Anyway... I wanted my blogging friends to know what I was up to! We had our 5th annual Team Brave Hearts golf scramble this past Sunday and it was a success! We haven't put our earnings on our website yet as we have to pay the golf course, etc. but for the late date, we did well! We are planning events throughout the year and like I said, I'm just really excited!
To the friends of Team Brave Hearts,
We hope this letter finds you well. Team Brave Hearts has undergone some exciting changes we would like to share with all of our supporters. In the past we have focused all of our fundraising efforts on supporting the American Heart Association. This money went to support national research for many heart related areas including, congenital heart defects. We are glad to have had a connection with this great organization.
Our next focus is on something that we will be able to feel locally and something that will impact many of our own team members. Caring for the medical needs of children with a congenital heart defect requires a specialized team of professionals - a team that exists at Kosair Children's Hospital. The biggest need this team has right now is an ICU that is designated for heart patients. The number one concern after heart surgery is infection and a designated ICU would isolate heart patients from those who may have infectious diseases. Over the next five years our fundraising goal is to contribute $100,000 to help make a heart ICU at Kosair Children’s Hospital a reality.
We also are committed to connecting and supporting new families on this journey. We will be making care bags that will be given to each new heart family at Kosair that will include items to make the stay a little easier and information on how to contact us for support.
To make this happen, we have teamed up with Kosair Children’s Hospital Foundation. Team Brave Hearts wants to offer support in making the advances in the field of children's hearts possible. Our goal, along with Kosair Children's Hospital, is to ensure world-class medical care for children facing congenital heart defects and needing specialized heart care.
We are so excited about what we can do as a part of Kosair Children’s Hospital Foundation and we would like to ask for your continued support as we take this first step on our new journey. Please join Team Brave Hearts in funding the programs and equipment that make it possible to help children win the fight against congenital heart defects. Every child deserves the chance at life.
Please make a donation today to Team Brave Hearts and Children's Hospital Foundation by visiting:
http://www.firstgiving.com/braveheartsky
Thank you for your continued support,
Team Brave Hearts
