When an LTHS student is inducted into the National Honor Society, a large part of their pledge is committing to help others through acts of service. To end their term, Community Service Coordinator Tory DalPonte and Secretary Erin Svoboda are working to take a clause close to their hearts and open it to the LTHS NHS community. Through April, NHS will host a shoe drive through the platform GotSneakers that will benefit A Giving Heart Foundation (AGHF). Through a program called Leading with Heart, high school students from all over the Chicagoland area are introduced to medical and business leaders from all over the county to give them a holistic view of what it means to be a leader. Using these leadership skills, students bring the AGHF message of giving kids with Congenital Heart Disease their childhood back to their community to raise much-needed funds for doctors nationwide.
Congenital Heart Disease affects 1 in 100 babies born, and 1⁄3 of those babies will require heart surgery. DalPonte, who has been a part of the program since 2021, has seen the funding of various phase 1 trials come to life. The money raised by Leading with Heart has been used to assist Dr. David S. Winlaw in his phase 1 trial for biodegradable stints that went on to get recognition from the National Institute of Health. Along with funding Dr. Winlaw, the Leading with Heart class of 2023 has seen its fundraising efforts employ Sickbay in Lurie Children’s Hospital, Chicago. Sickbay is an FDA-cleared software platform that unlocks data to enable flexible, centralized remote monitoring of any bed and develops and deploys real-time AI in a standardized workflow from hospital to home. Unlike ever before, doctors, nurses, and parents have real-time data about their patients at their fingertips in app form. This platform will revolutionize the way data is collected and will be monitored from virtually anywhere in the world.
If an NHS student donates four pairs of shoes that meet the criteria, they will receive 1 point that can go towards their total for the end of the year. Non-NHS members are also welcome to participate. For every pair of shoes donated, $7 will be donated to A Giving Heart Foundation, which will go to the fantastic research previously mentioned. Acceptable sneaker brands are Adidas, Allbirds, Altra, APL, Asics, Brooks, Columbia, Converse All-Stars, Fila, Hoka One One, Jordan, Keen, Merrell, Mizuno, New Balance, Nike, On, Puma, Reebok, Salomon, SAS, Saucony, Skechers, Sorel, Timberland, Topo, Under Armour, and Vans. All shoes will be brought to rooms 51 or 52 at East Campus. No flip-flops, heels, crocs, or rain boots will be accepted.
If you have a pair of shoes gathering dust, consider bringing them in. Your small act can make a big difference in the lives of over 40,000 children born with CHD every year. Let’s unite the Lockport community over a cause that touches so many of us. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to Erin Svoboda at [email protected]. Together, we can share the A Giving Heart Foundation story and change lives worldwide for generations to come.
