Built from the fight. Powered by love.
Stronger Hearts Foundation exists to support families facing congenital heart disease during the most critical and uncertain moments of their lives.
WHY SHF?
Why we started. Why we’re different. Why it matters.
Stronger Hearts Foundation was born out of firsthand experience – not theory, not distance, but lived reality. When our son was diagnosed with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS), we became one of the many families suddenly thrust into the world of emergencies,surgeries, and long hospital stays.
What we found was a system that could heal a heart, but not always support the family holding it together. Hotels were expensive. Resources were scattered. Nights were unknown. While there are organizations built to help house families for free, most of them remain waitlisted – leaving families with the need to find housing until they can receive a room.
That’s why we created Stronger Hearts Foundation.
The SPark.
The Difference
We don’t just know what it’s like – we lived it. We have a deep, emotional understanding of what families actually need during critical moments: support that’s immediate, personal, and practical. We know what it’s like to wait 3 days, a week, 2 weeks to get into housing programs. We also understand that for families with a child undergoing emergency cardiac care – waiting isn’t an option.
We work with hospitals for pre-payment as well as reimbursement to families for emergency housing & travel, so no one has to choose between affording a hotel or being near their child.
We provide day-of-surgery care, with food delivery, rideshare support, and comfort items to survive long, stressful days.
And we offer something just as vital: empathy – the kind that only comes from having lived it.
Because a healed heart is only the beginning. Families facing congenital heart disease need strength to endure the long road that comes after surgery – the recovery, the fear, the chaos. SHF exists to make sure families don’t walk it alone. When support shows up in the hardest moment, it doesn’t just help – it changes everything.
The significance.
Support tailored for families in crisis.
housing & Travel assistance
Helping families stay close, without the financial burden.
Stronger Hearts Foundation works alongside partner hospitals to provide either pre-payment or reimbursement for up to 2 nights of short-term lodging at nearby hotels and also provides support for travel expenses.
This program is for CHD families who must travel 30+ miles from home, and their children are admitted to the cardiac ICU in one of our partner hospitals, for cardiac emergencies.
Coordination is done through the hospital’s cardiac social work team.
FAQ: “Isn’t there a Ronald McDonald House for that?”
Yes, and we deeply respect what they do. We have spent over 50 nights at RMHC – Philadelphia and we couldn’t be more thankful for what they do for families. But what most families don’t know is getting into the housing program often means waiting anywhere from 3 nights to over 2 weeks, even in urgent situations.
Stronger Hearts Foundation was created to help fill that critical gap. We provide immediate support, reimbursing hotel stays for the first 2 nights to provide families with time to find longer-term accommodations.
Day-of-surgery care packages
Providing strength through the small things that matter.
Stronger Hearts Foundation provides partner hospitals with care packages, to be delivered to families on the day of their child’s heart surgery or catheterization to provide:
Gift Cards tailored towards local rideshare and food delivery services.
Practical Supplies for long hospital stays.
Emotional Encouragement from other heart families, as a reminder that you are not alone.
Our 5 – 10 year outlook.
incentives for nurses
Empower nurses caring for cardiac kids
We plan to launch a program that incentivizes nurses from community and rural hospitals to complete CHD-specific education or shadow programs at larger hospitals.
The Goal: Ensure more cardiac kids receive timely, informed care – no matter where they first show up for help.
Improved SV Monitoring
Improve monitoring capabilities for single-ventricle patients
We plan to work with the clinicians overseeing single-ventricle monitoring programs to improve and/or provide better equipment for home monitoring.
The Goal: Enable parents to make timely decisions and recognize issues sooner.