A Giving Heart Foundation was started by Colleen and Mike Berk and their family after their newborn Brayden was diagnosed with Aortic Valve Stenosis, requiring balloon angioplasty at just one month old.  Although the procedure went well and their son continues to grow strong, the Berks have fears for the future – and the invasive surgeries Brayden may have to endure.  The Berks decided no other family should have to go through this ordeal alone, and our small, grassroots, all-volunteer foundation was born.

1 out of every 100 babies is born with Congenital Heart Disease or Structural Heart Disease.  And too many of them die – more than from any other kind of birth defect.  And the ones who do survive spend way too much of their lives in hospitals, facing daily battles just to do the kinds of fun, messy, rambunctious things most kids take for granted.  But the system is letting them down.

As tiny as their little hearts may be, funding for research is even tinier, with 99% of all proceeds focused adults, who already benefit from safe, non-invasive options that aren’t yet available to children.

Not only are these kids being robbed of the advanced technology that can help them thrive, they’re being robbed of childhood itself.

We believe every child has a right to experience the growing, learning, playing, curious, messy joys of childhood.  Your donation to A Giving Heart Foundation can help transform the lives of these kids and give them the childhood they deserve.