Jack Hanson just turned two years old on Oct. 24 and needs to hang in there a while longer before his little body is strong enough to undergo ground-breaking open heart surgery early next year. On Nov. 5, the public’s invited to attend a craft fair fundraiser at Foxbridge Village to help defray expenses his Branford family is facing.

His mom started non-profit “Jack of All Hearts” to help children and families dealing with pediatric heart disease; now, a local non-profit wants to help little Jack Hanson and his Branford family in their time of need.

On Sat. Nov.5, “Open Your Heart, Help the Community” will host a community craft fair at Foxbridge Village Clubhouse to help raise money for Jack and his family as he prepares to undergo a ground-breaking heart surgery operation early next year.

It will be the eighth operation for Jack, who just turned two Oct. 24 and has already endured one open-heart surgery operation.

The family, including big sister Ava, moved here from Florida when Jack was an infant, to put him in the care of experts at Yale-New Haven Hospital. Mom Laura Hanson founded Jack of All Hearts that same year; running the non-profit while her husband supported the family. But a recent job loss now has both Hanson parents seeking employment while they continue to support their family and prepare to provide a critical operation for Jack.

The little guy was born with a rare congenital heart defect and this September doctors found his blood oxygen levels have dropped to a worrying percentage, nearly causing a rescheduling of the 2012 surgery to take place this month.  Jack is a candidate for a recently approved FDA procedure which would allow his own bone marrow to be grafted to his heart and grow, within six months, into a new artery.  Jack will be the second to undergo the surgery in the US, under surgeon Dr. Toshi Shinoka who has completed 25 operations in Japan. Alternately, if the bone marrow graft is not viable during surgery, an artificial graft would be installed.

Link to Full Article
For the full story, see the Oct. 27 issue of The Sound and go to zip06.com

Join Open Your Heart, Help the Community, Inc. at The Foxbridge Village Clubhouse (100 Hemlock road, Branford, CT) on Saturday, Novemeber 5, 2011 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.  as we host a special Holiday craft fair to help Jack Hanson.

Jack has a rare congenital heart defect which affects less than 1% of all children borth with congenital heart defects.  He will be 2 years old on October 24 and will continue the need for medical treatment/surgeries for serval years.  Jack and his family reside in the Foxbridge Village Condominiums in Branford, CT.

Whether it is to get some early Christmas shopping done, browse the items our vendors have on display, enjoy a cup of coffee and fresh baked goods, or just sto by and make a donation, we would love to see you there!   Proceeds will help with the rising medical costs for Jack’s family.

 All sales from the Open Your Heart booths will be donated directly to the Hanson Family. 

Open Your Heart, Help the Community, Inc. is formed to help families and individuals in need due to unforseen circumstances.  If  you or anyone you know is in need of help in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene, please contact us!

Check out our website for upcoming dates and locations of local craft fairs that Open Your Heart will be attending.  Friends of Open Your Heart have created beautiful pieces of jewelry for sale, 100% of the sale price benefits Open Your Heart, Help the Community, Inc.

On Saturday May 7th Rob DePaola will run “The Tough Mudder” in Vermont.   All donations to sponsor his run will go directly to help Open Your Heart.  Please click HERE to support Rob and Open Your Heart!

The Tough Mudder  is an 8 mile run thru an obstacle course of mud, fire, and water – it is described as “probably the toughest event on the planet”  To see what he will be  doing, and to donate, please visit his website HERE 

Or Tough Mudder: http://toughmudder.com/

Click the link below to see a video of Alicia Monaco tapping.  Alicia Monaco will be a teacher for the students of the Tapography Fundraising Event and will be performing May 22! Alicia Monaco Taps!

Thank you to everyone who helped support our Open Your Heart Team so that we could help to support the Best Buddies Walk!

Please join us as we walk in the Best Buddies Friendship Walk on April 30th, 2011 at the North Haven Middle School. (9:00 Registration and breakfast; 11:00 Walk begins)

Please click HERE to join our team; click HERE to view our fundraising page.

The Best Buddies Friendship Walk is a fun-filled community fundraiser to support your local Best Buddies programs of inclusion. The friendship, integrated employment and leadership programs educate people with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities to be advocates for social inclusion in your community.

Best Buddies is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to establishing a global volunteer movement that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment and leadership development for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).

Open Your Heart, Help the Community, Inc. is forming a team to walk/run in the Matt’s Mission 5K race on Sunday, May 22, 2011 at 9:30 a.m. at the North Branford High School.  Please join our team and register to walk/run by visiting: Matt’s Mission Walk .

The certified 5K includes a scenic, rolling course through residential neighborhoods in North Branfod.  The race starts and finishes at North Branford High School.

View the race course.

RUN OR WALK FOR A CAUSE!!Raise $100 for more for Matt’s Mission Fund and receive a complimentary race entry.  The fund will provide relief for needy North Branford students in with support for clothes, shoes, school supplies, class dues, field trips and much more.

Matt’s Mission, Inc. was formed to raise funds to aide local students in need; to encourage everyone to SLOW DOWN and to DRIVE SAFE while raising awareness to the consequences of destructive driving decisions.

Aid Station  - There is one water station on the 5K course.
Directions:From Bridgeport: North on I-95.  Follow signs to I-91 north. Take exit 8. Take a right onto Route 80.  Follow Route 80 until you see tennis courts on your left (there will be a traffic light here). Turn left into driveway. North Branford High School will be the building on the right.

From New London:  South I-95 to exit 54 (Cedar Street). Take a right onto Cedar Street. Cedar Street becomes Totoket Road. Follow Totoket Road to Route 80. Take a right onto Route 80. Follow directions from above from Bridgeport.

From Hartford: South on I-91 to exit 8. Take a left onto Route 80. Follow directions above from Bridgeport.