Happy heart Walk 2015 Thank you

Thank you, thank you, thank you! Where to even begin…another wonderful day to go down in the books for the Happy Heart Walk! Thank you to everyone who participated, both near and far, in so many different ways. It is so fun to see everyone here (in California) congregate together, but it is equally amazing to hear of stories and see photos of people gathered all over the country (and world!) wearing their Happy Heart Walk shirts, walking in Henry’s honor, donating to help the cause, or praying for him and his Barth brothers and the research that is happening at this moment.

We are constantly inspired by those who so selflessly want to help us pull off an event like this, and humbled by those who give money to the Barth Syndrome Foundation, often without knowing us too well. People are good in this world, and it is a gift to witness this goodness and beauty first hand.

A small attempt at thanking and honoring everyone who took part in the Happy Heart Walk 2015…

Thank you to our amazing list of Sponsors this year…what an impressive list it was! All businesses genuinely and gladly offered goods and services to help make our day special and effective. What made the local sponsorships even more special was that they are all businesses that we frequent as a family. This is very nice, as asking people (that you know and see often!) for money can be difficult; but everyone gave generously and with a smile on their face, wishing us well as we go forward. Many of them donated in hopes that their gift would help us to raise more awareness and more funds for the Barth Syndrome Family. So if you were privileged to partake in the fabulous lunch, and want to donate to compensate for a great meal, please do so here :)

We are so grateful for your willingness to support us, Sponsors, and look forward to a lasting partnership with you for the years to come!

        Whole Foods Lafayette was our main sponsor again this year, providing sausages and guacamole for lunch, treats for the kid’s check-in table, and take-home bags for all of the participants filled with coupons. Whole Foods Lafayette continues to be our go-to spot for groceries, and it was a pleasure working with them again this year!

            Diablo Foods was a new sponsor this year, and also generously helped with lunch by providing potato salad and hot dogs.

            Costco was another new sponsor this year, donating money to help out with the picnic. Plates and utensils, buns, condiments, humus, chips, and drinks we all provided by Costco!

            And Bakesale Betty of Oakland donated her famous slaw, a perfect addition to the picnic! (And way better than us making slaw for 200!)

            Susie Cakes Lafayette donated the delicious cupcakes again this year.

            Chick-fil-A donated the chicken biscuits for breakfast, and Peet’s Coffee Orinda donated the coffee this year…a much needed, warm pick-me-up before walking the Reservoir. And Be Real Foods, a great new company out of Orinda, donated their yummy gluten free kids snack bars (can be found at Diablo Foods and soon Whole Foods).

            Chow Lafayette gave money to help supplement the day.

            Pear Tree Greetings graciously donated the darling Henry photo cards (that I hope everyone received! If not, I have extra, so let me know!)

            And thanks to great pricing from Brian at Badskulls t-shirt printing, we were able donate nearly 75% of the sales price of the shirts straight to the Barth Syndrome Foundation.

            Five Little Monkeys in Walnut Creek and Jelly Belly gave great gifts for the winners of the Kid’s Sponsorship Contest, helping us get this new facet of the Happy Heart Walk going this year and giving the kids a little extra incentive to help raise money.



    Family Style Photography took all of the photos again this year…what a talented friend we have :) To see wonderful photos from our special day, visit http://familystylephotos.com/happyheartwalk. You may download the images or order prints directly from mpix.com from this site. 

Thank you to everyone who purchased t-shirts! We sold and sent 275 shirts all over the country, and would love to see photos of you wearing them! Please email photos to [email protected] or post them to the Happy Heart Walk Facebook page. As I said earlier, nearly 75% of the sales price was donated directly to the Barth Syndrome Foundation, so this was a huge contribution in our total fundraising efforts. Wear your shirts proudly throughout this year to continue to raise awareness in your community!

Thank you to my dear friends in Fort Worth who happily organized the Texas event, completely on their own accord. Thank you for rallying a team to run in Henry’s honor; thank you for encouraging your kids to participate; and thank you for bearing with the crazy Texas weather :) Hoping that next year will be warm and sunny, on the day that it is suppose to be!

Thank you to everyone who made it out to the event, in California or Texas! Thank you for taking precious time out of your weekend to spend with us, physically showing your support and care. Hope you had fun, felt loved, learned something new, and were inspired to take action in the areas of life that are important to you and others in your community. We certainly felt VERY loved by you!

Thank you to everyone who has donated to the Barth Syndrome Foundation. By check, online, through the GoFundMe account, cash…every dollar makes such a difference! As I have said many times now, we have been made aware how difficult it is for rare diseases to find funding. There are so many important and exciting research projects happening right now in regards to Barth Syndrome, many without secure future funding. If they do not get funded, they cannot continue with their research. It is this research that opens the doors to the possibility of finding a treatment or a cure for Barth Syndrome. This directly affects Henry’s life and well-being. I will post a grand total of what the Happy Heart Walk 2015 raised in the coming weeks!

Earlier last month (February is National Heart Month…the reason Happy Heart Walk takes place in February), the American Heart Association named the “Top Cardiovascular Disease Research Advances in 2014” and a Barth Syndrome Foundation funded project is included on this list!
http://blog.heart.org/top-ten-cardiovascular-disease-research-advances-2014-summary/
http://blog.heart.org/new-methods-lead-discoveries-rare-heart-disease-post-stent-vessel-changes/
These are the types of exciting things that your donations go towards!

Thank you to Dr. Robert Ryan and his Team at Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute (yes, Oakland, CA!) for coming out to the walk this year! Thank you for all of your efforts in finding a treatment that could actually help in the daily life of someone with Barth Syndrome. We are grateful to have such a caring and supportive team of people working on this in our very own backyard!  

Thank you to the families whose kids participated in the Kid’s Sponsorship Walk!  What an honor it is to teach our kiddos about the importance of supporting and helping others in need. And so special to have this done by our dearest friends, who know and love Henry.

Lastly, thank you to our wonderful team of helpers this year! We would not have been able to do it without you! Thank you for your ideas, time, energy, inspiration, and extra hands. It was our pleasure having you on our team and we are so thankful for your selfless support.

Thank you everyone! Even if your support this year extends only to reading this post, we are grateful for your concern and would love you to jump on board the Happy Heart Walk next year! We feel so supported by our community and so loved by our family and friends (and extended friends!) No matter how Henry’s life circumstance happens to change over the coming years, we are certain that we have the village to support us, and we will continue to have Happy Hearts, no matter what.

We’d love to see photos and hear stories of how the Happy Heart Walk has touched you or your family. Please feel free to send photos and stories to [email protected].

To see the Lamorinda Weekly article, click here.

To read more about what Barth Syndrome is, click here.

To donate to the Barth Syndrome Foundation, please click here.