Our Vision
The global population is approximately 7.3 billion people with 31% of global deaths attributed to heart related issues. Approximately 2.263 billion people alive today could likely succumb to heart disease if we don’t find ways to reduce the death rate. If we can simply raise $1 for every person affected by heart disease then our goal of $2.263 billion will be achieved. Once again I was challenged by others saying my goals were too ambitious and likely unachievable. In kind I responded the only way I could, by making them even loftier.
Set your goals low and you are destined to fall short, set your goals high and you will be amazed at what you can achieve. After taking this overwhelming goal and just simplifying it down to $1 a person, many have opened their minds to help. In just a few weeks, discussions are already underway with organizations that I could only dream of getting their support. The Foundation focuses on four key areas of support;
1. Research, Development and Education - Includes grants and scholarships for heart patients as well as those studying in cardiovascular medicine.
2. Youth Screening for Athletes- So many kids die from undetected issues in almost every sport so creating a single focus for screening from the professional governing body of each sport will have a monumental impact.
3. In-patient Support- Providing children with stuffed animals, games, toys, therapy dog, etc. to provide a distraction and relief during the recovery phase
4. Family Hospitalization Support- Travel, temporary lodging, food can all become significant financial burdens added to the medical costs families face
In order to achieve such broad areas of support the message and support mechanism needs to have the ability to connect through numerous socioeconomic levels of impacted patients as well as donors to the effort. To date the response has been promising with only 2 short months of effort. When I'm not in class, studying, working, recovering from surgery or offseason baseball workouts I am working on my Foundation.
Supporting partners: Columbia University, New York Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital. Babies Heart Fund. Cleveland Clinic, Cook Children’s Hospital- Ft Worth, Texas.
Early interested partners that have already expressed a willingness to participate:
2015 World Series Champion Kansas City Royals, Joe Torre
NBA- looking to tie in their new orthopedic partnership with GE healthcare who is also a large manufacturer of heart screening equipment
NHL- Established health study with NY Presbyterian for concussion study and have an interest in heart screening as well
NFL- Jets, Bills, Eagles and Patriots have all responded with offers of assistance prompting larger discussions moving to the league office
ESPN, NBC Today Show and ABC interested in following the story
Make a Wish Foundation, Garden of Dream(Madison Square Garden’s Foundation)
PepsiCo