2013 Casino - Update

Thanks to the 28 volunteers who came out for our 2013 GoodHearts casino it was a success. The casino was held April 1 and 2 of this year at the Pure Canadian Gaming casino on Argyll.  The pay-out to the charitable organization working the casinos has averaged $75,000, but we will not know the exact amount until August. We will provide an update once more information becomes available.

Holding the casino immediately after Easter made it difficult to find volunteers, however our board member Barb Foxall came to the rescue by connecting GoodHearts with a dedicated group of volunteers who staff casinos for not-for-profit groups.

Thank-you cards were sent to all the volunteers who staffed the GoodHearts casino.

If you would like to help the GoodHearts Foundation as a volunteer at one of our fundraising events please contact us.

Update - Website

GoodHearts Facebook Page reaches 30 Likes

Facebook likes according to city 

Over the past year we here at the GoodHearts Foundation have been working to update our web presence, including this brand new website, a page over at Facebook and a Twitter account. In a recent article in our newsletter (and posted to this website) we outlined some of the steps we had taken to improve our website, and asked everyone to take some time to visit us online.

I'm happy to announce our Facebook page has recently reached 30 likes. This allows us to access statistics on visitors to our page. I've posted a few graphics illustrating who likes our Facebook page according to where they live, gender and age.




Facebook likes according to Gender and age



Visitors to our website
according to country

Thank you to everyone who has found and liked us on Facebook.  If you belive in GoodHearts please pass along our website and Facebook page so others can join.

Our new website is hosted by blogger who have always offered visitor statistics as part of the service. So for a bit of added interest, I've added a map of visitors to this website according to country.

Note:  Please click any of the graphs to view the larger version.

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.

Update - Transplant Housing

Two transplant suites in high demand

Transplant patients, caregivers and University of Alberta Hospital transplant social workers started calling about the GoodHearts apartments soon after the 2009 transplant housing fund-raising dinner.

Since the door was opened to our first furnished apartment — Kaelyn’s Place — in July 2011, GoodHearts has received more than 60 phone calls and e-mails. Some inquiries came from as far as Nova Scotia. The bulk of the calls were made after we moved to the Galen Lofts and opened the second apartment.

The furnished one-bedroom suites are located across the street from the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute.

Fourteen transplant patients and their caregivers have stayed at our apartments so far. The average stay is three months. Each suite is empty only as long as it takes to get it ready for the next transplant patient.

The application process to stay at the GoodHearts suites is simple and starts with a phone call — 780.916.5026 or e-mail info@goodhearts.ca — to GoodHearts.

No reservations are taken, but the GoodHearts volunteer records the call or e-mail. And when a suite becomes available the patient or caregiver who made the initial inquiry is called back.

The volunteer also stays in touch with the transplant social workers, because they know who is in need of temporary housing.

Patients pay $900 a month, that’s less than 50 per cent of the actual rental cost for each suite. GoodHearts subsidizes the balance. A damage deposit of $450 is required. The rent is pro-rated so anyone staying fewer than 30 days in a month is charged a daily rate of $30.

To date, the damage deposit has been returned in full to each tenant.

The single-bedroom suites include a queen-size bed, a pull-out sofa, television, internet, dishes, pots, pans, and bedding.

Parking is not included in the rent, but Galen Lofts residents can check with the leasing office for underground stalls at the Windsor Park Plaza.

Each suite also contains a folding walker, a shower seat, raised toilet seat, digital weigh scale, and bathtub hand grip. Transplant patients may require these items, and past tenants suggested they be provided.

After consulting with U of A Hospital transplant physiotherapists, co-ordinators, and occupational therapists, we contacted Homecare Surgical, and the company provided the items either free or at cost.

When booking the furnished suites, the GoodHearts volunteer looking after the apartments meets with the prospective tenant. He or she is informed about the rent payment, damage deposit, the check-in and check-out process, and how the Galen Lofts leasing office fits into the transplant housing process.

The move to the Galen Lofts has many benefits for patients as well as GoodHearts:

• Patients can walk across the street to attend the clinics or physiotherapy sessions;
• Caregivers can walk rather than drive from the apartment to the hospital;
• Parking costs for daily hospital visit have been eliminated;
• Patients no longer have to fill out the GoodHearts application and legal forms;
• The Westcorp leasing office handles all the legal paperwork for renting the suites;
• The leasing staff handles the walkthrough for checks-ins and checks-outs;
• Tenants call the leasing office in case of non-medical emergencies;
• Galen Lofts staff checks the apartments for cleanliness before a new tenant moves in.

To view more photos of the furnished suites view our Transplant Housing at Galen Lofts photo album on our Facebook page.

To have the transplant housing project function well and keep costs as low as possible, GoodHearts needs volunteers — preferably organ recipients.

The volunteer is required to handle the rental inquiries, maintains contact with the transplant social workers, the Westcorp leasing office, and most important, meet and stay in touch with the tenants staying in the suites. If you are interested in volunteering please contact us.