Heart Heroes, Inc.

About Heart Heroes, Inc.

Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) is an abnormality of the heart present at birth. There is no cure for CHD and no known cause affecting over 40,000 births per year in the United States. Heart Heroes, Inc. was founded in Omaha in 2009 to support these children and families through the distribution of superhero capes, programs to offer hope and awareness initiatives.

In Nebraska alone, every 32 hours a Heart Hero is born; this is almost 300 children born each year.  In addition, 400 pediatric heart surgeries are performed each year at Children’s Hospital & Medical Center of Omaha.  Heart Heroes has worked diligently to support, empower and comfort the families who are forced to be brave as they navigate an unimaginable journey of living with a life-long illness.

Heart Heroes is the only CHD nonprofit in the state of Nebraska and the largest in the Midwest. Our vision is to ensure every family affected by CHD feels empowered and supported.

Programs & Services Offered

  • Awareness & Education – Educating the public on the #1 birth defect in the world through awareness initiatives, medical facts & Heart Heroes stories. Provides two annual Conference sponsorships for parents in Nebraska to participate at the National Pediatric Cardiology Quality Improvement Collaborative and report back to local families.

  • Camp Brave Heart - A week-long camp held in conjunction with YMCA's Camp Kitaki and Omaha Children's Hospital allowing CHD teens to experience summer camp. Heart Heroes makes it possible for every CHD child to attend this life changing kids camp.  

  • Family Support Events - Providing much-needed support to families forced to be brave as they navigate the unimaginable journey through free services & quarterly events.

  • Heart Hero Cape - The Heart Hero Cape comes personalized for each Heart Hero, but the gift of hope is universal when it comes to families in need of encouragement and support.

  • Inpatient Support - Monthly boxed meals and gifts of encouragement are provided to inpatient heart families at Children’s Hospital Omaha.

  • Remembrance Program - Heart Heroes honors and remembers the far too many CHD Heart Heroes who earn their angel wings far too soon through remembrance events & gifts of comfort.  

  • Research - Heart Heroes works with Children's Hospital Omaha, UNMC, & Munroe Meyer Institute studying Cardiac Neurodevelopmental Outcomes and providing much needed medical equipment to improve CHD diagnostic testing.

  • Superhero Heart Run - The annual Superhero Heart Run is a platform for CHD awareness in our community. This family fun run is a community wide event that honors, empowers and remembers those affected by CHD.

  • Totes of Hope - Heart Heroes provides approximately 400 "totes of hope" each year to families recovering from pediatric heart surgery. This care kit provides necessities and items of comfort for their often-lengthy hospital stay and is a reminder they are not alone on this life-long journey. Families who receive totes share how much it means to them to get the bag during such a difficult time in their lives.

  • Virtual Support Group - Celebrating the triumphs and sharing in the defeat through monthly Coffee, Coping & Conversation, an online support network to reach families across the entire state of Nebraska. 

  • Inpatient / Outpatient Support Group - The "Healing Hearts" group is for inpatient and outpatient caregivers. It is held bi-weekly at Children’s Nebraska.

Did You Know

  • Congenital Heart Defects are the #1 birth defect worldwide.

  • Nearly one of every 100 babies is born with a CHD.

  • Each year over 1,000,000 babies are born worldwide with Congenital Heart Disease.

  • Congenital Heart Disease is the leading cause of all infant deaths in the United States.

  • Each year approximately 40,000 babies are born in the United States with Congenital Heart Disease. Thousands of them will not reach their first birthday and thousands more die before they reach adulthood.

  • More than 50% of all children born with Congenital Heart Disease will require at least one invasive surgery in their lifetime.

  • The cost for inpatient surgery to repair Congenital Heart Defects exceeds $2.2 billion a year.

  • Congenital Heart Disease is approximately 60 TIMES more prevalent than childhood cancer, however funding for pediatric cancer research is five times higher than funding for CHD research.

  • Surgery for CHD does not equal a cure, there is no known prevention or cure for any of them.

    There are more than 40 different types of Congenital Heart Disease. Little is known about the cause of most of them.

  • It is estimated that approximately 19,600 people in Nebraska have CHD.

You Can Help

  • $10 provides one boxed meal to an inpatient family.

  • $15 provides a thinking of you card and gift to a family celebrating their child’s birthday in heaven.

  • $20 provides an inpatient family with a gift of hope on the days they need it most.

  • $30 outfits a child with CHD their very own, customized Heart Hero Cape to sustain their incredible bravery.

  • $50 gifts a remembrance box to a family honoring a child.

  • $100 empowers and supports one Heart Hero through attendance to all family support events, gifts while recovering from medical procedures and other forms of hope and encouragement.   

  • $150 provides one Tote of Hope to a family in the community undergoing open heart surgery.

  • $250 funds one month of outreach in a clinic across the state.

  • $500 sends one child with heart disease to Camp Brave Heart.

Dollars At Work

  • Funded 20 campers and 2 hospital staff members to attend Camp Brave Heart.

  • Over 500 personalized Heart Hero Capes honored the children fighting CHD - Making them feel invincible and strong during their many appointments, pokes, hospital stays and surgeries.

  • 400 inpatient meals served to CHD families.

  • 135 Totes of Hope delivered to local hospital.

  • Over 300 families served through local family support events.

  • 100 families served through the Remembrance Program.

  • 72 families supported through coffee, coping & conversation.

  • Over 150 CHD Families honored at the Superhero Heart Run raising over $140,000.

  • 104 iPads distributed to CHD families for home health care.

Contact Info
(402) 960-9287 | website | PO Box 340, Boys Town, NE 68010