Our mission is to bring normalcy to pediatric heart patients “heart kids”
Who We Are
Our Story
“I wanted these kids to experience the simple joy of waking up on Christmas morning knowing Santa found them, even in the hospital, and made their wishes come true.”
Kimberly Kaufman is a Sacramento native diagnosed with congestive heart failure at the young age of 30. Through her experiences in the hospital meeting pediatric heart patients and their families, Kim realized she was in a unique position to help. With her parents, Curtis and Patti Kaufman, Kimberly founded Angels for Hearts in 2008 as a 501(c)(3) tax exempt non-profit organization.
Heart Kids and Families
Once a heart family, always a heart family.
One in 110 Children are born with a Congenital Heart Defect (CHD). Through the generosity of our donors and volunteers, and the amazing support from our community, we have served over 2,500 heart kids and their families. Angels for Hearts supports all families with heart kids, including heart angel families who have lost a child to a congenital heart defect.
Heart Kids
Heart kids are born with a Congenital Heart Defect (CHD), the most common birth defect. The heart is formed by day 28 when most women do not even know they are pregnant. Estimates say 25% of children born with a CHD will need surgery or other surgical interventions within the first year of birth, and most will need to be seen by a cardiologist for their entire life. Some families have more than one heart kid, as well as other healthy heart children.
Heart Families
Heart families are families who have at least one child with a cardiac issue. Our mission is to bring normalcy to pediatric heart patients “heart kids” ages newborn to 18, both in and out of the hospital. We remind heart kids that first and foremost they are kids before being heart patients
Heart Angel Families
“Heart angel families” are families who have lost a child to a cardiac issue. Many of our heart families have had miscarriages, delivered stillborn babies, or had a child born who died right after birth or days, weeks or years later. Once a heart family, always a heart family.
We help The Pediatric Cardiac Child Life Specialists at:
