As a way to raise awareness for CHD (Congenital heart disease), Cabrini University’s marketing club held a CHD “Par-Tee” fundraiser event on Sunday, April 23.
Congenital heart disease, or CHD, is a defect in the hearts of infants. Defects can include an abnormal structure of the heart itself or enlarged vessels. Hearts with CHD often have holes between the chambers of the heart, leaky valves and vessels and/or missing parts.
CHD affects the hearts of children when/before they are born. According to the Congenital Heart Public Health Consortium, about 40,000 infants in the United States are affected by CHD annually. Of those 40,000 babies, nearly 25 percent must undergo, either, invasive or other forms of life-saving diagnoses or treatments.
This fundraising event was brought about by a marketing seminar class for seniors.
“My [marketing] students are in a marketing seminar class, which is accumulating all the different courses that they have had in marketing together into one,” Vonya Womack, the marketing program coordinator, said. “Not only did they have to do research, but they, as a group, decide and design a project.”
“This group came together and they wanted to do something for the nephew of one of the students, Thomas Hegedus. The nephew has been in and out of the hospital with CHD and heart surgeries,” Womack said.
“A portion of the proceeds are going to the CHD Coalition, who is helping sponsor us, and that’s going towards CHD research,” the CHD “Par-Tee” Fundraiser Event coordinator, Thomas Hegedus, said. “I actually picked this foundation because my nephew has CHD. Taking this class project for an event, we said ‘Let’s do something for others.'”
The event was advertised on and off Cabrini University‘s campus, as a way to spread awareness and and exposure.
Nicole Procknow, the assistant event coordinator, of the CHD “Par-Tee” fundraiser event said “We mostly advertised through social media, so Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and reached out to families and friends. we contacted other families that have CHD as well to see if they would be interested in coming.”
“The word got out really really fast,” Hegedus said. “We did a lot of advertising.”
The senior seminar class even reached out to Youtube singer and songwriter CC Miles.
Miles started her music career at the age of 13 by posting song covers on her Youtube channel every week. Her top video reached more than 300,000 views.
At the event Miles performed covers of songs, such as “Don’t Stop Believin,” and her own songs, “9th Street” and “Teach Me How to Dance.”
“I always love doing charity events because you’re helping and helping to donate money,” Miles said. “My CDs [“9th Street – EP” and “From My Room”] can go to the cause, and I’m always here for anything.”
The event touched close to home for one Cabrini student in particular.
Sophomore exercise science major Devon Scharf has CHD and showed her support at the fundraiser.
“I don’t just have CHD – I have a bunch of other stuff, but CHD affects my sports a lot,” Scharf said.
Scharf plays goalie for Cabrini’s NCAA women’s field hockey and women’s lacrosse teams. She is also the goalie for Cabrini’s recreational roller-hockey team, and she is the only girl on the team.
“I’m not as good of an athlete as a I could be because of my CHD. It prevents me from going as hard as everyone else and from staying in shape with everyone else,” Scharf said. “I have work two times harder to be in the same shape as everyone, and that’s kind of why I became a goalie – it allows be to continue to participate and benefit the team.”
Seeing that this event would be helping research for CHD, Scharf was excited that awareness would be brought to a disease that affects her, and thousands of other people’s, everyday life.
“If I could have gotten involved, I probably would have because obviously this hits pretty close to home,” Scharf said. “I was pretty excited and knew that I wanted to stop by and see what it was like because thought it [the event] was the coolest thing.”
Scharf talked about the battle she has had with sports and her health conditions in the article, “Devon Scharf: The girl behind the mask.”
The CHD “Par-Tee” Fundraiser Event created a family-friendly atmosphere with raffles, games and face painting.
“It’s going really, really, really well – there’s raffle baskets, there’s a photo booth, there’s music, there’s food, there’s mini golf, there’s carnival games, there’s t-shirt sales,” Hegedus said “Everyone’s enjoying themselves; I’m enjoying myself, and it’s been a great day.”
