Matthew turned 5 on August 6^th and prior to his birthday on the morning of August 1^st we got an

email confirming that Governor Cuomo had signed Bill # 2316 into law in New York. This was the

perfect early birthday gift for Matthew. Mandated Pulse Oximetry Screening will be enacted in 180

days and newborns in NY will be saved because of this simple test! There were many advocates

involved in NY, we were happy and honored to be amongst them!

Matthew and his brothers have had a busy summer, with trips to The Land of Make Believe with

Aunt Ginny, Lake George and Lake Compounce. We also had a Fresh Air Fund child Giovanni visit for

a week in July. He taught Matthew and his brothers how to wrestle, this could be good or bad, we

shall see!!

A few weeks ago on a quiet Friday morning, I got a phone call from someone whose life and baby’s

life was directly impacted by “Matthew and Faith’s Law”. I had goosebumps as he shared his story. It

turns out he is a journalist and he is writing his own story, he can share it much better than I ever

could and it should be in THE NEW YORK TIMES in the coming weeks. This is the kind of publicity one

could only hope for! He has been doing some research and it turns there are two other babies caught

in the State of Connecticut using a Pulse Oximetry Screening!

We are full steam ahead in the preparations for the upcoming 3^rd Annual “Giving from the Heart”

Gala on Sunday, October 6^th at Anthony’s Lake Club in Danbury. Our guest of honor is Kristine Brite

McCormick of Corasstory.org and we are also honoring Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther and Senator

William Larkin. The donations for the silent and live auction have started to come in and I promise

you all another amazing night! The proceeds from The Gala are going directly to Pediatric Cardiac

Fellows for CHD Research in the form of multiple $2500 and $5000 grants. The recipients will be

announced in January 2014.

As always, thank you for your prayers and support and I look forward to seeing many of you at The

Gala!

 

 

 

April and May have been very busy months for Matthew’s Hearts of Hope. On April 29^th, we received confirmation that Matthew’s Hearts of Hope is an official Nonprofit  501(c)(3) retroactive to November,  2011. On April 30^th Dr. Richard Berning, Matthew and I travelled to Albany, New York to meet with Assemblyman Richard Gottfried and Senator Kemp Hannon the co-chairs of the Public Health Committee to discuss the importance of passing legislation that would mandate Screening for Critical Congenital Heart Defects using a simple, non-invasive, cost effective pulse oximetry test. We were invited back by Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther who we have been working with very closely on Bill # A 2316 since January, on May 30^th to witness the passing of the bill unanimously in the assembly. Matthew was introduced to the New York Assembly and received a standing ovation and was presented with a Resolution also! It was a proud Mama moment for sure! See below for videos of our visit and also some photos. The bill passed the senate on June 12^th and currently awaits Governor Cuomo’s signature which should be in the next week or two!

 

A Picture speaks a thousand words! The passing of Bill # A 2316 unanimously!

 

Meeting with Assembly Majority Leader Hon. Joseph D Morelle.

 

 

Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther presenting Matthew with a Resolution on May 30th

 

 

The Fundraising Committee chaired by Susan Seeger is full steam ahead with our planning for the 3^rd Annual “Giving from the Heart” Gala on Sunday, October 6^th at 5pm at Anthony’s Lake Club in Danbury. Last week the Board of Directors voted to award multiple $5000 grants directly to Pediatric Cardiology Fellows for the purpose of CHD Research. We are currently seeking sponsors for our event so please email us at matthewsheartsofhope@hotmail .com if you’re interested in becoming a sponsor! As always thank for your support and prayers. We are looking forward to a fun summer with some planning for the Gala in between!!

 

February is Congenital Heart Defect awareness month but for those of us that are CHD parents every

day is CHD awareness day! Matthew continues to do well! We took a trip to Ireland over Christmas

and New Year’s where the highlight of the trip for all the boys was a visit to Bunratty Castle, a REAL

castle! We were treated to a private tour of the castle by our cousin Donie who works there. We also

had a great time visiting family in County Meath and the Clare cousins in County Clare.

2012 was a big year for Matthew’s Hearts of Hope. When I reflect on where we were a year ago I am

feel very blessed at how far we have come. Every newborn in the State of Connecticut is now

screened for Critical Congenital Heart Defects as of January 1^st , thanks to “Matthew and Faith’s Law”.

I have reached out to the states of New York and Maine to offer assistance with their bills. In January

Guideposts featured our inspiring story, it reached over five million people. I have gotten many

messages of gratitude and people sharing their stories of Hope. We delivered  500+ “Hug a Heart”

Pillows to children like Matthew who have to undergo open heart surgery at Columbia Presbyterian

Hospital in New York.

At our Gala in September, we honored the many people that have helped on our journey. We also

raised over $15,000 for our great cause. In November I was both flattered and humbled to receive

the coveted “Women of Heart” Award for 2012 for my efforts in raising awareness to the #1 birth

defect, Congenital Heart Defects and for “Matthew and Faith’s Law”. I was quoted on the program as

saying “I am blessed every day to have a four year old in my life that inspires me to work hard and

make a difference”. Those words are words I hope I can stay true to for a long time!

Last Tuesday, February 5^th, the children at the Sherman School stuffed 313 “Hug a Heart” Pillows full

of polyfill, love and a few ounces of hope. They were featured in a segment called “Making a

Difference” on NBC Connecticut 6pm News that night for their efforts. Many volunteers make this

project possible, thank you from the bottom of my heart and Matthew’s half a heart for your efforts,

you all know who you are!  A special thank you to Fairfield Processing, Clothing labels4U, JoAnn

Fabric and One Stop Cleaners for their contributions to this great endeavor!

Lastly our NFP status is still pending but we should have it very soon. We are in the early stages of

planning our third annual “Giving from the Heart “Gala which will be in October. As always, thank

you for your support and prayers on this great journey, Happy Valentine’s Day to you and yours!

Below are links to our Guideposts Story featured in January and also our Hug a Heart Pillow Project in the News Times


GuidePost  
NewsTimes

Here is a video from NBC Connecticut on the Heart Pillows!

Click here

2012

Today, two very special CHD angels Faith and Eiren are celebrating their birthdays in Heaven. This

motivates me every day to raise awareness to the #1 Birth Defect and make a difference. Matthew

our CHD warrior is still here fighting the fight and I hope what we are doing in memory of both of

you, makes you proud! He continues to do well and has started Preschool again as well as soccer

both of which he loves!

Our Gala on September 15^th was a great success and we raised over $15,000 for our great cause. A

special “Gura Mile Maith Agat”, (thanks a million in Gaelic) goes out to the Incredible Fundraising

Committee of Sue Peet, Susan Seeger, Jeannine Johnson, Amy Bocompani and Julie Head. It was a

great night of celebration and fun. Thank you also to Rocco and Manny and their staff at Anthony’s

Lake Club, they did an amazing job and the food was delicious. Thank you also to Bob O’Connor our

DJ who did a great job. Congratulations to all the honorees, I hope your plaques have a place of

honor in your homes or offices, we appreciate all that you have done to help Matthew’s Hearts of

Hope on our journey to this point. Thank you also to all our donors, we had 48 silent and live auction

items and 18 raffle items!

Guideposts Magazine was here on Thursday for a photo shoot and our story will be featured in their

upcoming January Edition. Also The Danbury News Times called yesterday and did an interview on

me since I won the 2012 Women of Heart Award, see attached flyer for details of the event on

November 1^st ………………………... I am humbled, flattered and grateful . Thank you Bernadette Schopfer

for the nomination, it was a complete surprise. I am blessed every day to have a four year in my life

that inspires me to work hard and make a difference. We also just delivered more “Heart Pillows” to

Columbia Presbyterian. As always thank you from the bottom of my heart and Matthew’s half a heart

for your support and prayers

 

Money Donated to Columbia Presbyterian Raised from the Gala

Matthew and the Heart Pillows Delivered to Columbian Presbyterian