Update - Programs and Website

Program spending rises; website gets revamped

There are many aspects to organ transplants, a U of A Hospital cardiologist said, and GoodHearts is addressing some of the more practical needs.

The practical needs include temporary housing for transplant patients who must move to Edmonton, food and gas cards, MedicAlert bracelets, a YMCA membership subsidy, the Dr. Dennis Modry Bursary for post-secondary studies, as well as organ and tissue donor awareness.

In 2012, for instance, GoodHearts allocated more than $42,000 to its “practical” programs. Funds spent on food and gas cards totaled $13,195 — triple the amount given to the transplant social workers in 2009, the year the gift card project was started.

All programs supported by GoodHearts are outlined on the website — www.goodhearts.ca — which was recently revamped by Jennipher Card.

GoodHearts on Twitter

Jenn is looking for volunteers to keep the website current and informative.   “The new website does not require any special software to update, so anyone with a blogger account can be an administrator,” said the webmaster.  Some training is required, she said, but it’s minimal.

When updating the site, Jenn also added the GoodHearts Facebook and GoodHearts Twitter pages.  Members are asked to check out these new features, especially Facebook.   “We require 30 ‘Likes’ to access the statistics on visitors to our new site. So I ask that every member with a Facebook account check this out and to ‘like’ our page,” urged the communications director.

The GoodHearts website had 257 visitors in December, and the page with the most hits was “About Us,” Jenn told the board members at the January meeting.