Harboring Hearts rings Nasdaq Opening Bell during Heart Month
On February 16th, 2024, Harboring Hearts was invited to ring the Opening Bell at Nasdaq. With many of our hospital partners joining us for the ceremony, we were honored to welcome two of our heart transplant patients, Joanna and Wendy, as well as our board members and junior board members.
Opening Bell Ceremony at Nasdaq on February 16th, 2024
With smiles and unmistakable energy, our supporters cheered and raised their hands in honor of our mission, to provide financial and emotional support to cardiac surgery, liver transplant, and pediatric kidney transplant patients and their families when they need it the most.
Several of Harboring Hearts’ 9 hospital partners participated in the event. Dr. Margaret Mulligan, Clinical Psychologist and Behavioral Cardiology of North Shore University Hospital/Northwell Health Hospital, shared, “The excitement in the air was palpable! The Nasdaq opening bell was such an amazing event, one that celebrated an organization that supports individuals undergoing heart transplant — truly a once in a lifetime experience.”
It is because of the support we receive from donors like Donate Eight and the LiveOnNY Foundation that we are able to help transplant patients and their families with critical resources. At the Opening Bell Ceremony, Heidi Evans, the Executive Director of the LiveOnNY Foundation, looked on as two of the patients helped by the grant we received from the foundation, stood alongside Harboring Hearts’ staff, Board of Directors, and volunteers, to share in the celebration of our mission.
Pamela Kass, Harboring Hearts Executive Director shared remarks, “Since our inception in 2009, we have helped more than 2,500 families with direct resources, thanks to generous partners like the LiveOnNY Foundation and Donate Eight. In 2024 with their support, we have already served nearly 100 families!”
The Opening Bell Ceremony provided Harboring Hearts with an unforgettable opportunity to share our work and mission, of giving hope to hearts everywhere, with the world. It was an honor to celebrate these moments alongside our dedicated staff, hospital partners, Social Workers, donors, volunteers, and most importantly, our patients, who continue to be the heartbeat of this organization.
Heart transplant recipient, Wendy Fox, shared, “To see the Harboring Hearts Logo, in Times Square, was synonymous with the feeling of the New Year's Eve Celebration. We truly touched many hearts on that day.”
You can read the full press release here and watch the video here.
Here's a look back at a memory from July of 2012 when Harboring Hearts Founder, Michelle Javian, and Co-Founder,Yuki Kotani rang the Closing Bell!
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.
