We NEED Your Story!!

As a parent of a child with CHD or a CHD survivor, we often can feel lost in a sea of other causes. Now you can take the helm of awareness and steer it toward change, by sharing your story with your congress representatives.

Many of you have expressed a willingness to share your personal stories of battles, both those lost and won, in an effort to raise public awareness of CHD. This is an excellent way to allow the voices of our children, family members and ourselves to be heard!

In effort to provide a united front as the National Congenital Heart Coalition (watch for their new website, to be launched this week!), a Mended Little Hearts volunteer, Amy, has volunteered to create books that will be provided to congress men and women during Lobby Day 2009.

Guidelines for Submission:

1. Content and Accuracy: Emotion is a powerfully persuasive tool. So are numbers when supporting the financial hardship that can result from CHD. Please try to be accurate and describe the details of your story, and try to convey the burden faced by survivors, families and friends. Remember, the purpose is to emotionally engage the reader regarding the impact of CHD, increasing awareness and compassion for the lifelong disease.
   
2. Format: Stories need to be 1-2 pages, in a .doc or .txt format. Please check for
   spelling and grammar. Along with your story, please submit two, high quality photos, one of which is in a medical setting, such as during a hospital stay, doctors office visit or procedure.
3. Disclaimer: Please understand that your story may need to be edited to fit our standardized models and formatting needs!
   

DEADLINE: December 15, 2008

Click here to submit your story.