This October officially marked ForHearts’ 40th anniversary—October 18 to be exact! Our 40th anniversary year has been a remarkable one, filled with celebrations and accomplishments that have helped to expand our reach and provide even more life-saving pacemakers. Here are just a few of the key milestones from this milestone year:
The Pacemaker Club + ForHearts Worldwide = Expanded Support ForHearts in Need
An estimated 2 – 3 million people worldwide die every year because they cannot acquire a pacemaker. This reality is what drives our mission to provide life-saving cardiovascular devices, implant surgery, and follow-up care and monitoring to people in need in developing countries. This year, we welcomed a new partner in our efforts to do all we can for hearts in need, no matter where in the world they are. ForHearts has partnered with the Pacemaker Club, an online community where individuals living with pacemakers, ICDs, and CRTs can connect, share information, and support one another. We’ll be announcing more about this exciting new partnership in the coming months.
200+ Pacemakers Purchased, 200+ Lives Saved
Since our beginning, ForHearts has relied on the generosity of medical and device manufacturing partners for donations to ensure we can secure pacemakers and provide them to our patients free of charge. One of our goals for 2023 was to purchase and acquire devices directly to secure our pacemaker supply chain. In 2024, we were able to purchase and implant over 200 devices in patients at our Heart Centers around the world!
Arturo Becomes a Dad
With pacemakers lasting an average of five to seven years, many of our patients receive multiple devices as part of their lifelong follow-up care. In 2004, Arturo Seguro of Mexico received his first life-saving pacemaker at the age of seven through ForHearts’ in-country partner cardiologist Ricardo Meneses. Since then, Arturo has continued to see Dr. Meneses for his follow-up care, including device monitoring and replacement. He is now on his fourth pacemaker! This year, 20 years after he became a ForHearts patient, Arturo and his wife welcomed a baby girl. A family is thriving (and growing!) thanks to the work of ForHearts.
ForHearts Ambassador Rose Whyte Celebrates 50 Years of Life with a Pacemaker
Since launching the ForHearts Ambassador program in October 2022, our Ambassadors have been spreading the word and raising funds for the ForHearts mission. As we mark the 40th anniversary of ForHearts this year, Ambassador Rose Whyte is celebrating 50 years of life with a pacemaker!
Born with a congenital third-degree heart block, Rose suffered multiple cardiac arrests before receiving her first pacemaker in 1974 at the age of 11. She is now 61, the mother of three, and on her 12th pacemaker!
Rose chose to mark this personal milestone by ensuring others can receive a life-saving pacemaker, hosting the ForHearts fundraising event Ambassador Rose Whyte’s “50th Pacemaker Anniversary Party.” She held an in-person celebration on September 14 in her current hometown of Shrewsbury, Ontario, to kick-off her fundraiser with the goal of raising $50,000 for 50 pacemakers. You can still give to Rose’s online fundraiser here.
Celebrating 40 Years at A Night ForHearts Gatsby Gala
Our ForHearts community donned their fedoras, cloche hats, and fringiest flapper looks for our A Night ForHearts Gatsby Gala in April. The event featured a cocktail hour with themed period drinks, casino games, a dinner of heavy hors d’oeuvres, and dancing. The Gala program looked back on 40 years of ForHearts—complete with a 40th-anniversary photo op, keynote speech from ForHearts Chairman Thomas C. Crawford, MD, and recognition of Immediate Past Chairman Benedict S. Maniscalco, MD’s nearly two decades of leadership and contributions to cardiovascular health with the inaugural Benedict S. Maniscalco, MD Impact Award.
Now in its third year, the annual A Night ForHearts Gala is one of our biggest fundraisers, and this year’s event raised over $40,000 to provide pacemakers for hearts in need around the world. We are deeply grateful to Board Member David Katcher for securing presenting sponsor The Michael T Berger Charitable Fund. Thank you to all our sponsors and attendees who supported A Night ForHearts Gatsby Gala and helped make it an unforgettable evening.
We are looking forward to even more unforgettable moments as we enter our 41st year. Will you join us? Whether it is serving as a volunteer, becoming a sponsor or donor, hosting your own online fundraiser, or partnering your company with ForHearts as a corporate sponsor or through corporate matching, you can support the ForHearts mission.
Explore our donation opportunities.