BridgeBio Giving Hope to Patients of Harboring Hearts
BridgeBio Volunteers after assembling 300 Care Packages for cardiac surgery and organ transplant patients
During American Heart Month, we celebrate and thank BridgeBio Pharma, Inc. (BridgeBio), one of our leading corporate partners. BridgeBio is a biopharmaceutical company founded to discover, create, test, and deliver transformative medicines to treat patients who suffer from genetic diseases.
In September of 2024, BridgeBio volunteers joined forces to create 300 heartfelt care packages for cardiac surgery and organ transplant patients, impacting patients across all nine of our partner hospitals. BridgeBio employees gathered together and took the opportunity to learn more about Harboring Hearts and the work we do to support our organ transplant patients and families to and through surgery.
Pamela Kass Vynalek, Harboring Hearts Executive Director, led BridgeBio employees through the volunteer experience and she was quick to express gratitude on behalf of Team Harboring Hearts. Because of mission partners like BridgeBio, we are able to provide a safety net for cardiac surgery, cardiac transplant, liver transplant, and pediatric kidney transplant patients and their families. These care packages, while they may seem like a small gesture, provide hope and joy during an otherwise stressful time for hospitalized patients and their loved ones. Thank you for making that possible.
Heart Transplant Recipient, Deborah, Sharing Her Story with BridgeBio Volunteers
BridgeBio, a biotechnology company dedicated to providing transformative medication for genetic diseases, shares a special connection with many of the patients we serve — those in need of cardiac treatment due to genetic conditions. As part of this initiative, BridgeBio volunteers handcrafted bookmarks and picture frames for each recipient. They also thoughtfully filled each care package with essential and comforting items for patients such as hand sanitizer, shampoo and conditioner, lip balm, notebooks, pens, stuffed animals, and more.
Adding a personal touch, each volunteer wrote a heartfelt card to a patient, offering words of encouragement and expressing their unwavering support to help them stay strong through their health journey.
These care packages, distributed across our nine hospital partners, brought hope and light to patients who now know they are surrounded by a community cheering them on every step of the way. Together, we are making a meaningful difference in the lives of those we serve.
A note from a Harboring Hearts Family: Harboring Hearts is truly a wonderful program and we are grateful to have them helping us.
(Left) Alyssa Galloway (Newest Harboring Hearts Board Member) and (Right) Pamela Kass Vynalek (Harboring Hearts Executive Director)
This inspiring collaboration also marked the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Harboring Hearts. We are thrilled to welcome Alyssa Galloway, Director of Global Cardiovascular Patient Advocacy within BridgeBio, as the newest member of our Board of Directors. Alyssa has worked with a number of rare disease patient communities in both patient advocacy and government affairs roles for nearly fifteen years. Prior to joining the biotechnology industry, she led grassroots advocacy, fundraising, and other volunteer efforts for several patient advocacy-focused nonprofits.
Thank you, BridgeBio, for giving hope to hearts everywhere!
About Harboring Hearts:
We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2009 to provide cardiac surgery patients and their families with financial and emotional support providing critical resources like housing, food, and transportation. In collaboration with cardiac social workers, liver, and pediatric kidney transplant social workers and doctors, to give hope to hearts across 9 partner hospitals: NYP/Columbia University Medical Center, NYP/Weill Cornell Medical Center, NYP/Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital, The Mount Sinai Hospital, Montefiore Medical Center, Westchester Medical Center, NYU, Northwell/North Shore University Hospital, and Stony Brook University Hospital.
To learn more and to make a direct impact on a cardiac surgery or organ transplant family, please visit our website at www.harboringhearts.org.
