EVENT DAY Q&A

EVENT DETAILS

• Saturday, September 28th, 2024
• Midland Beach – Franklin D. Roosevelt Boardwalk and Beach Staten Island (Father Capodanno Blvd and Lincoln Ave, Lot 9)
• Registration and activities begin at 10:00 AM.  We advise arriving at 10:00 AM so you can take full advantage of all of the fun activities we have in store!
• Opening Ceremony begins at approximately 11:00 AM
• Walk starts at 11:30 AM

PARKING AND EVENT LOCATION
Parking is free! There is a lot of parking available - Parking at Lot 9 (at Father Capodanno Blvd and Lincoln Avenue) is the best lot to use, and our event will be held right next to it in the Picnic/BBQ area. If overflow parking is needed, there are additional lots in both directions from Lot 9.  Please allow extra travel time in case of traffic.

HEART ANGEL REMEMBRANCE
Heart Angel families are invited to bring a photo or other remembrance for display in our Peace and Memorial area; materials to leave messages will also be available. <3

EVENT IS RAIN OR SHINE!
The Walk will be held rain or shine!   We suggest dressing in layers as it may be a little chillier on the boardwalk.

OUR TOP TEAMS!
Our top 3 fundraising teams by 8:00 PM on Friday, September 27th will receive their own team tent! You'll receive an email the night before the walk if you are a top team!  This tent will include a table and chairs and can be used as a meeting area for your team throughout the event. We appreciate all of your fundraising efforts!!

REGISTRATION

• Please kindly inform your friends and family that donating to our cause (or to your team) does not automatically enroll them for the walk. Official registration is required to participate in the walk day festivities.
• Registration, along with our event site and fun activities, will open at 10:00 AM. We ask everyone to check in at the registration area and registration is required for all participants over the age of 2. Making sure that all of your team members are pre-registered online will help to speed up the check-in process.  Arriving at 10:00 AM will ensure you'll have more time to enjoy our event day activities!  Please factor in additional travel time for traffic.
• If you are registered online, we will check you in, accept any donations that you may have to turn in (Cash, Check, or Credit Card), and direct you to pick up your walk t-shirt if you have raised over $75 as an INDIVIDUAL. (If you have earned a higher level incentive, you will receive an e-mail approximately 4 weeks after our event to claim your fundraising reward and can continue to fundraise until the deadline to qualify for your preferred incentive item!).
• If someone has not registered online, they will be asked to complete a paper registration form and sign our event waiver.
• After check-in/registration, ENJOY some fun activities!

ACTIVITIES WILL INCLUDE:

• Celebrate Heart Warriors and honor Heart Angels
• Participate in our signature Walk with gorgeous views of the Statue of Liberty and Verrazano-Narrows Bridge!
• Plenty of FREE parking!
• Try your luck at a carnival game
• Meet the canines protecting NY with the NYPD K-9 Unit
• See an NYPD Emergency Service Unit up close
• Climb the NYPD Rockwall
• Visit the FDNY Fire Safety Table
• See an FDNY Ceremonial Fire Truck
• Meet some fun characters provided by a Moment of Magic
• Enjoy a sweet treat provided by Cake Chef's Cookie Jar
• Fun Crafts! Make a Get Well Card, leave your mark on the NYC Event Banner, or make jewelry.
• Dance to tunes with our DJ
• Enjoy colorful face painting
• Get some soccer tips
• And more!

We will begin our walk program from the stage at approximately 11:00 AM and will ask everyone to gather there to remember our heart angels, celebrate our heart warriors and hear about how your efforts are making a big difference in CDH research.

EVENT NOTES

• Cupcakes will be served by Cake Chef’s Cookie Jar and there will be drinks/light refreshments available, but please feel free to bring your own lunch to enjoy! There are picnic tables available.
• Friendly dogs on leash are allowed at the park! If you decide to bring your pet, please keep them leashed at all times and please clean up after him/her.
• There will be a garbage receptacles available throughout the park. Please help us keep the park clean!
• Restrooms are available throughout the park, and there is restroom right next to the BBQ area where our mission village will be set up.

Where do funds raised go?

At The Children's Heart Foundation, our dedicated volunteers, donors, and WalkStars are the driving force behind funding groundbreaking congenital heart defect research. Thanks to their critical fundraising efforts, we swiftly put donated funds to work. Guided by our esteemed Medical Advisory Council (MAC), which includes medical doctors, PhDs, and lay reviewers, we annually invite grant applications, rigorously review and score them, and consider them for funding awards. We also support scientific collaborations and CHD research fellowships. Learn more here about how we're making a difference in the fight against congenital heart defects.

 

You can donate to an individual, a team or a general event donation for any Walk. Click the Donate link at the top of any page to search by individual or team. If you have trouble, contact us at 847-634-6474 for assistance.

 

Please make all checks and money orders payable to The Children's Heart Foundation and mail to:

If possible, please complete our offline donation form, which can be found here, and include it with your check or money order; you may also use the check memo line to indicate to which walker and/or team the donation should be credited. If a donation check has been written out to you personally, you may endorse the back of the check and mail it in with a completed donation form. We do not recommend you send cash donations in the mail; instead, deposit the cash into your checking account and then send a personal check from your account.

 

Any donation made online should post immediately. If an online donation does not post within 30 minutes, please contact us.

 

When making a donation, we have a convenient eCheck option as a method of payment in addition to credit card(s), or PayPal. 

 

If you check this checkbox, you will be charged the amount indicated next to the checkbox. This amount will also be visible to The Children's Heart Foundation. However, on the fundraising page, your intended initial donation amount will be displayed.

 

All monetary donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

 

Yes. For Canadian donations made online with a credit card, the amount entered in the online donation form will be in U.S. dollars.

 

All online donations which include an email address will automatically receive a donation receipt via email. For donors who mail their donation, please include an email address to receive a receipt once your donation is received.

 

A Tax ID number identifies The Children’s Heart Foundation as a 501(c)(3) non-profit Organization. The Children’s Heart Foundation’s Tax ID number is 36-4077528.

 

Websites remain open till December 31 for additional donations online. 

 

Thank you! Please email us at vdegregorie@childrensheartfoundation.org to share more information about the contribution you’d like to make.

 

 

Any donation made online should post immediately. If your donation does not post within 30 minutes, please contact The Children’s Heart Foundation.

 

Individuals or teams are not obligated to meet default goals or their own set goals. We encourage you to explore creative ideas to help achieve your team's objectives. Your fundraising efforts play a vital role in enabling The Children's Heart Foundation to support the most promising research for congenital heart defects. Together, we can make a significant impact in advancing this crucial cause.

 

Log in to your Participant Center with your email and password to visit your page. You will then be able to access a list of all of your donors as well as a list of all donors to your team’s page.

 

Login to your Participant Center and click on the "emails" tab. There you can send Thank You emails to your donors!

 

We provide personalized shirts as a token of appreciation to each walker who raises $75 or more through fundraising or self-donation.

 

Each walker who raises $75 or more through fundraising or self-donation will earn a shirt. During the registration process, we kindly request your t-shirt size to ensure we have it prepared for those who have earned this incentive. Fundraising incentives can be earned for up to 30 days after the conclusion of each Walk (with shipping available to U.S. addresses only). For further information, please feel free to contact our team at: vdegregorie@childrensheartfoundation.org.

 

Yes! Visit your Participant Center and look for the blue boxes that link to Facebook to set up a Facebook fundraiser that links directly to your page! All funds raised will be credit to your fundraising page. Learn how to set one up by watching our informational video. Please contact us at vdegregorie@childrensheartfoundation.org if you have questions.

 

 

When you register yourself, before completing the registration click on the "Register Another Person" button. You can add other registrations here, and each registration will have their own fundraising page as well as a unique username and password (even if they are sharing email addresses)

 

No, there is no limit to the number of team members you may have! How can I get help editing my registration information, or shirt size, or delete a second account I created, or otherwise need help setting up my fundraising page. These actions can be completed in your Participant Center. But if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to email us at vdegregorie@childrensheartfoundation.org for assistance.

 

Yes. We accept onsite registrations, and donations. All guests are required to register, as participation includes completion of our Event Liability Waiver.

 

 

Parking at some events may include parking fees. Please see the Event Details page of each event for more information about parking including any fees.

 

 

All guests should arrive in the one-hour registration period for each Congenital Heart Walk listed on the Event Details page. For some Walk sites, registration must promptly close at the indicated time based on venue requirements.

 

Please feel free to bring pictures of your Heart Warrior or Heart Angel, and we will provide locations where they may be displayed.

 

Yes, strollers are always permitted. Coolers with non-alcoholic beverages and food are permitted, unless otherwise prohibited by the venue.

 

Yes. Please see the Event Details page for walk route information.

 

We post event pictures as soon as possible. In some cases, professional photography services are generously donated and prepared with care, and we gratefully post these photos as soon as they are received.

 

Our events are rain or shine. However, events may be postponed, delayed or canceled in the case of severe and dangerous weather. In cases where severe or dangerous weather is a possibility, we will communicate to Walkers across digital channels.

 

Most Walks are approximately 1 mile. Specific information about each Walk’s length can be found at the Event Details page for that Walk.

 

Our events include complimentary refreshments, typically including water, fruit and snacks. In some cases, additional or different refreshments may be available, and some events include food trucks from which guests can purchase refreshments.

 

 

We would be grateful to receive your #CHDStory! Click here to share your story. 

 

No. The Children’s Heart Foundation and its events are non-secular.

 

Thank you! Please click on the Volunteer tab above for more information and to link to volunteer registration.

 

Please contact us at 847-634-6474, or vdegregorie@childrensheartfoundation.org if we can further assist you.