Charlotte, N.C. — Kristen Miranda and Kara Olsen chat about how others can support The HEARTest Yard.
In the video at the link below, the program’s mission and how it’s helping families who have children with heart issues.
By: Ashley Stroehlein
Charlotte, N.C. – Panthers legend and Fox Sports analyst Greg Olsen is back home in Charlotte and focused on giving back through his family’s nonprofit, The HEARTest Yard.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) – Former Panthers star and fan favorite Greg Olsen and his foundation have made a considerable donation to the Atrium Health Levine Children’s Hospital.
The Greg Olsen Foundation will make a $2.5 million donation to support the HEARTest Yard Congenital Heart Center as part of the Giving Hope campaign. Greg and Kara Olsen, whose son TJ was born with a congenital heart defect, have now donated nearly $10 million over qa ten-year span to support eh hospital.
“There is nothing like this center,” the former Carolina Panthers tight end said Thursday. “Kara and I had a vision to bring a one-of-a-kind, comprehensive program to support all cardiac babies and patients in the area. To see this come to fruition and to continue to experience the care, first-hand … it’s remarkable.”
The specialized care program features a neurodevelopmental program, a children’s high-acuity monitoring program, and the pediatric Fontan clinic, which provides ongoing, holistic care to patients who have had a Fontan procedure.
“The support of Greg and Kara Olsen and Receptions for Research has been instrumental in creating an extraordinary space to care for children with congenital heart disease,” chief of pediatric cardiology chief and medical director of the pediatric heart failure and transplant program Dr. Gonzalo Wallis said. “Transformational gifts like this help position us among the best health systems in the country.”
Olsen retired from the NFL three years ago moving into the broadcast booth with FOX, where he has made a rapid rise including calling last year’s Super Bowl for the network. The former tight end and three-time Pro Bowler spent 14 years in the NFL, including nine with Carolina, before retiring in 2020.
By Evan Donovan
CHARLOTTE — Former Carolina Panther Greg Olsen donated $125,000 as part of his family’s HEARTest Yard Program.
In the video at the link below, the program’s mission and how it’s helping families who have children with heart issues.
By Shamira McCray via Post and Courier
Former Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen knows firsthand the work that goes into providing at-home cardiology care for a young child.
His 10-year-old son TJ was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome and underwent a heart transplant two summers ago. The congenital heart defect affects normal blood flow.
Now, Olsen and his family are using their foundation, The HEARTest Yard, to ensure other families facing similar situations have the needed resources once they are discharged from the hospital.
Olsen presented a $300,000 check to MUSC’s Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital on July 28 to assist pediatric cardiology patients and their families with the transition between the hospital and home care. The proceeds came from the foundation’s second Celebrity Classic golf tournament held this month at the Kiawah Island Club, where Olsen is a member.
Part of Olsen’s time at the Medical University of South Carolina this week included a tour of the children’s hospital, where he got to meet three young heart patients, who are close in age to when TJ had his transplant.
“Just to be able to see those kids, smiles on their faces, the little bit of the fear and anxiety in the parents’ eyes about what is the unknown, what’s to come — you know, brings back a lot of memories,” Olsen said.
The HEARTest Yard started in 2012 in Charlotte as an outpatient, in-home nursing program and has since expanded to Charleston. When the patients would be discharged from the hospital, the foundation would set up a team of nurses and administrators to help with the transition.
Olsen said when in the ICU, children receive care from doctors and nurses around the clock and parents can just be mom and dad.
But then they return home.
“And as exciting as that was, now you’re not only mom and dad, you’re caretaker,” Olsen said.
That can include taking vital signs and keeping logs of food intake, weight gain and saturation levels — all of which Olsen said was overwhelming when TJ was recovering at home.
“That was really the inspiration of The HEARTest Yard and bringing these specialists and therapists and nurses and whatnot into the home entirely as a health benefit,” Olsen said.
This month’s donation is the second one from the foundation. It will help supplement the work already started at the MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital, according to Dr. Andy Atz, chair of the department of pediatrics.
Atz said that while there is a huge team of nurses, doctors and other care team members at the hospital, patient care couldn’t be achieved without the support of the families.
Congenital heart defects are among the top birth defects in the United States. They affect one in every 100 children, Atz said. While not many of them require treatment in the first year of life, specialized centers like the one at MUSC are built for children who do.
“We built this hospital with a family-centric idea. We involved families,” Atz said. “And congenital heart disease is not just a patient story, it is a family story.”
The HEARTest Yard has plans to expand their partnership with MUSC in the years to come, according to Olsen.
Kiawah Island Club – and its owners, South Street Partners (“South Street”) – were honored to partner with their member and friend, Greg Olsen, and his family to host the Second Annual HEARTest Yard Celebrity Classic presented by Hendrick Lexus Charleston on June 11th and 12th, 2023 at the Club’s Tom Fazio-designed River Course. The event raised $300,000, 100% of which will go towards funding the expansion of this incredible pediatric cardiovascular foundation’s services to patients and families in the Charleston region in partnership with the Medical University of South Carolina (“MUSC”). Greg Olsen will be on hand at an event on July 28th, 2023, to present the event proceeds to MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital.
Under the auspices of Atrium Health’s Levine Children’s Hospital in Charlotte, NC, former Carolina Panthers tight end, Greg Olsen, and his wife Kara established the HEARTest Yard program in 2012 after their son, T.J., was born with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. Founded to fill a tremendous need for families of babies born with congenital heart disease, the HEARTest Yard provides healthcare support and services to ease the transition from the hospital to home.
Through a partnership between Receptions for Research: The Greg Olsen Foundation and Atrium Health Foundation, the HEARTest Yard Fund offers a range of services, including in-home private nursing care, physical therapy, and speech therapy, at no charge to families. The program ultimately aims to help prevent children’s complications from congenital heart disease and improve their long-term health. This year, the Foundation celebrated its 10th Anniversary and over $5 million dollars donated to the children’s hospital to support pediatric cardiac patients.
In December 2020, the Olsen family opened The HEARTest Yard Congenital Heart Center at Levine Children’s Hospital to provide comprehensive medical care to cardiac patients from birth through adulthood. In its first year of operation, more than 25,000 patients received treatment in the heart center. The services provided by The HEARTest Yard program will soon also be offered at MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital.
“At South Street, we believe that one of life’s greatest investments is time,” said Will Culp, Partner, South Street Partners. “The most priceless of course is time spent with loved ones and we are humbled that Greg and his family have utilized Kiawah Island for just that over the years. After learning more about T.J.’s story and the HEARTest Yard program, we knew that this was the perfect place to expand their efforts and were thrilled to host them again this year. We hope everyone who participated will return year after year to help us support the HEARTest Yard.”
The program currently serves the greater Charlotte community but as the foundation grows – and the needs of the Carolinas grow – the HEARTest Yard and South Street Partners were inspired to help heart babies and their families being treated at the world-class MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital. MUSC and South Street have enjoyed a long-time partnership and the goal of this annual event is to expand this already valuable working relationship by bringing the HEARTest Yard to Charleston to help impact local children as well.
In 2021, South Street donated six acres of land to MUSC to meet an identified need for medical services in the Sea Islands and bring a world-class emergency medical facility for those in the community. South Street Partners was honored to make this investment — valued at approximately $6M — as they are aware of what a vital service MUSC’s new clinic will provide to Kiawah Island residents and surrounding neighbors. There will also be a first of its kind in-house medical clinic operated by MUSC Health at Seafields at Kiawah Island, the first 62+ luxury life plan community at Kiawah opening in 2025 besides Freshfields Village.
By Bailey Wright
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — Football sportscaster and former Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen presented a check to the Medical University of South Carolina’s Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital on Friday.
Olsen was co-host of the Kiawah Island Club’s second annual HEARTest Yard Celebrity Classic, which raised $300,000.
Officials said the money will help expand the Pediatric Cardiovascular Foundation’s services in the Charleston region in partnership with MUSC.
The event was co-hosted by the Kiawah Island Club and its owners, South Street Partners. It was presented by Hendrick Lexus Charleston on June 11 and 12.
“At South Street, we believe that one of life’s greatest investments is time. The most priceless of course is time spent with loved ones and we are humbled that Greg and his family have utilized Kiawah Island for just that over the years. After learning more about T.J.’s story and the HEARTest Yard program, we knew that this was the perfect place to expand their efforts and were thrilled to host them again this year. We hope everyone who participated will return year after year to help us support the HEARTest Yard,” said Will Culp, Partner, South Street Partners.
Olsen and his wife Kara established the HEARTest Yard program in 2012, after their son T.J. was born with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. the foundation was created to help families of babies born with congenital heart disease find healthcare support and services to ease the transition from the hospital to their home.
This year, the foundation celebrated its 10th anniversary and over $5 million donated in support of pediatric cardiac patients. The HEARTest Yard Fund is through a partnership between Receptions for Research: The Greg Olsen Foundation and Atrium Health Foundation.
The Olsen family opened The HEARTest Yard Congenital Heart Center at Levin Children’s Hospital in 2020. They hope services provided by the program will also soon be offered at MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital.
By Summer Huechtker
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) – NFL analyst and former Carolina Panthers tight end, Greg Olsen, returned to Kiawah Island Monday morning for his second annual HEARTest Yard Celebrity Classic.
Olsen and his wife, Kara, started the HEARTest Yard Program in 2012 after their son T.J., was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. Their goal is to help families of kids with congenital heart disease have access to the best cardiology and cardiac surgery care in the country. The program helps fund a range of services like private nursing care, physical therapy, and speech therapy.
This years event at Kiawah Island’s River Course kicked off Sunday night with an auction, celebrity concerts from artists Mark Bryan, Jason Scheff, Thomas McClary, Taylor Hicks and others.
Olsen says they had around 300 people come out to the welcome event Sunday night to support the foundation.
“The biggest thing this year is just the growth,” Olsen said. “It’s incredible that, in such a short period of time, this event has really taken root and gotten a strong following.”
The celebrity golf tournament was put on by the HEARTest Yard program in partnership with the Kiawah Island Golf Club and its owners – South Street Partners. Dr. Eric Graham from MUSC Children’s Hospital was a co-host of the event with Olsen.
Olsen says his goal is to expand the charity’s efforts to the Charleston area. That’s after it initially started in Charlotte, in partnership with Atrium Health.
He added that he hopes to keep doing the event for years to come on Kiawah Island and continuing to support MUSC Children’s Hospital.
By Eric Townsend, staff
A spring semester marketing communications course led by instructor Nanelle Napp developed messaging and event recommendations for potential donors to The HEARTest Yard, a charity that aids families of children diagnosed with congenital heart disease.
Elon University students enrolled in a spring semester marketing communications class worked with a Charlotte-based nonprofit to develop events and messaging for recruiting potential donors who might support its mission.
Seven teams in the upper-level “Integrated Marketing Communications” course presented their recommendations on May 8, 2023, to the executive director of the HEARTest Yard Foundation, a philanthropic initiative that supports families of children battling congenital heart disease.
The assignment: tell the HEARTest Yard story in a compelling and easy-to-understand language, use social media to reach potential donors, amplify buzz around the upcoming Kiawah Celebrity Golf Tournament that raises money for the nonprofit, and create promotional bursts to coincide with other fundraising efforts throughout the year.
All efforts were aimed at the same end: extend the reach of the HEARTest Yard brand and messaging to generate donations and help more children and their families.
Nanelle Napp, an adjunct instructor of marketing who led the spring semester course, said working with nonprofits is a “win-win” for students and the nonprofit organization. Experiential learning helps students prepare for the marketing profession through client interactions and feedback.
She said that smaller nonprofits often don’t have the expertise found in a staff of full-time marketing professionals and that having students research and develop recommendations can help strengthen an organization’s brand.
Founded by former Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen and his wife, Kara, the HEARTest Yard helps children with congenital heart disease and their families. The Olsens have a direct connection with the cause: one of their sons was born a decade ago with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, which required surgery soon after his birth.
The Olsens’ support includes in-home nursing care and comprehensive medical services now available for families at The HEARTest Yard Congenital Heart Center at Atrium Health Levine Children’s Hospital in Charlotte.
Molly Ansbro, executive director of the HEARTest Yard Foundation, praised students for the ingenuity and energy that she described as evident in their presentations.
“You can tell they wanted us to succeed and they really put their passion behind their work,” Ansbro said. “It wasn’t about getting a good grade. I must’ve said it 100 times, but we’re so grateful. It’s been neat to hear different perspectives from Gen Z college-age students looking to support charities and causes they care about.”
Elon University students (from left) Henry Haas, Owen Zoubek, and Brandon Balter present their recommendations to Molly Ansbro of The HEARTest Yard on May 8, 2023.
Student Reflections
“Since this wasn’t simulated – you’re actually playing the role of marketing coordinator – that made the stakes higher, and it encouraged us to think more carefully and to think more critically about what we’re capable of doing. Having this assignment as a real project, for a real organization, and presenting to someone who works for them, helped us to learn. Our recommendations could be put into effect.”
– Steven Abeyta ‘23, of outside Tucson, Ariz., who begins his career this summer in Washington as a sales associate for Bloomberg’s B-Launch
“It was interesting to learn about the HEARTest Yard Foundation. That gave the project more purpose. There was meaning behind our work. When you’re giving a random class presentation, it doesn’t hold as much value as when we’re presenting to a client. This assignment also brought out our creative sides! It was great to be involved in something that holds a lot of meaning while at the same time improving my own skills.”
– Celia Kotelly ‘23, of outside Boston, who is interning this summer with the accounting firm of PKF O’Connor Davies
By Adam Wurtzel
MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Adam Wurtzel went to The Point at Lake Norman to The HEARTest Yard‘s 10th Annual Golf Classic Tournament.
The organization was founded by former Carolina Panther tight end and sports commentator Greg Olsen and his wife Kara after the couple learned that their son T.J. would be born with a severe congenital heart defect. The initiative partners with Atrium Health’s Levine Children’s Hospital.
Not only did “Up ‘n Adam” get the chance to chat with Greg Olsen himself, but he also got to meet a “Heart Dad” and his son, who were volunteers for the Tournament. And no “Up ‘n Adam” would be complete without some activity. Adam of course, attempted to hit some golf balls himself!
