How can we work to alleviate the pain of a child’s broken heart? Over the past year, the Jesuit Community Service program has become directly tied to an extraordinary charitable organization: HeartGift. HeartGift provides lifesaving heart surgeries for children who live in nations where specialized medical treatment is either non-existent or scarce. These children suffer from a specific condition called congenital heart disease that impair the flow of blood through the heart and can be fatal if untreated. Last year, Jesuit-sponsored two children: a Mongolian infant and a Jamaican four-year-old, paying for their travel to Dallas and for their care at Children’s Health, HeartGift’s partner hospital. Through unique fundraising events such as pancake breakfasts, a HeartGift LifeSaver Night, the Expository Bowl, and reaching out to local parishes, the initiative raised over twelve thousand dollars.
Suzette Bruening, Patient Coordinator for the Dallas chapter of HeartGift, has been involved with the organization for years, previously serving as a host for HeartGift patients. “The child, caregiver, and sometimes an interpreter live with [her family] during their stay, usually 6 weeks.” This spirit of giving to others inspired Bruening to take a larger role in the charity organization, feeling called to accept the position of Patient Coordinator. Nothing moves Bruening more than seeing how these children transform from being shy and quiet to being active, happy, and healthy.
Over the past year, the Jesuit community’s involvement has tremendously increased. Bruening describes the school as “an angel to Jay Quan,” a Jamaican child who was treated last spring. Each time she interacts with Jesuit or its students, Bruening finds it “a blessing to HeartGift to have such support by a wonderful school.” Jesuit’s renewed involvement with HeartGift includes providing meals for the host families and visiting with the children at the host families’ homes.
Although HeartGift has already impacted the lives of so many children and families all over the world since its inception over fifteen years ago, their goal for 2016 is to sponsor more than forty children, with eleven staying in Dallas. HeartGift also wants to increase the scope and services provided by volunteers and increase awareness of how others can get involved. Jesuit has pioneered this change by providing meals and field trips for patients and their families. Without the aid of several other Jesuit clubs including Student Council, The Roundup, the Medical Society, and the Community Service Leadership Corps, the Jesuit HeartGift Initiative would not have gone above its goal and created innovative ways to aid this charitable organization.
In the coming year, the Jesuit HeartGift Initiative is planning to collaborate with other Jesuit organizations and clubs and has increased its fundraising goal. The estimated cost of a patient’s journey to the United States and surgery would be over two hundred thousand dollars; however, due to the generosity of the Children’s Medical Staff, the cost of one patient is around fifteen thousand dollars.
HeartGift has changed the lives of so many children and Jesuit will continue to support them in their efforts to provide children, who suffer from congenital heart disease, the necessary treatments to improve their lives by innovative efforts and programs.
HeartGift is always in need of volunteers willing to do an array of services that include transportation, visits, providing meals and clothes, and supporting HeartGift or the Jesuit HeartGift Initiative by participating in fundraising events. The next Jesuit HeartGift fundraiser, the Expository Bowl, will be a fun-filled football game between members of the varsity football team pinned against members of The Roundup. Club co-president Alex Motter ’16 looks forward to the Expository Bowl this Friday, excited because his “involvement in both the Roundup and Heart Gift allows me to give of my time to others while working alongside my close friends.” This year, instead of just the football game, service clubs and organizations will host a tailgate beforehand to boost school spirit and encourage the newspaper. “I’m excited to see a huge turnout this year” said Motter, optimistic the Roundup will finally defeat the varsity team after a crushing defeat last year.
Several clubs will tailgate before the event which will occur on January 15.
