501(c)(3) Nonprofit · Los Angeles, CA
Every small
heart deserves
a loud voice.
Heartbeat Forward supports children with congenital heart disease and their families through care packages, emotional encouragement, and programs that nurture hope, resilience, and healing.
1 in 100
babies born with CHD each year
40,000+
U.S. CHD births annually
#1
most common birth defect worldwide
Supporting brave children with congenital heart defects through thoughtfully assembled care packages that bring comfort, resources, and hope.
Our Mission · Heartbeat Forward
What We Do
Comfort, hope,
Comfort, hope,
and community
for CHD families.
Children facing heart surgery endure more than medical procedures. They face fear, uncertainty, and long hospital days. Families carry emotional weight that extends far beyond the operating room.
Heartbeat Forward exists to remind them, at every stage of the journey, that they are not alone. We provide tangible comfort and build the community that makes survival meaningful.
I
Care Packages
Hospital-ready kits with comfort items, educational tools, and age-appropriate materials for children during their most vulnerable days.
IIEmotional Support
Caregiver resources and family encouragement developed with medical advisors who understand this journey from the inside.
IIICreative Expression
Art, storytelling, and play-based activities that help children process their experiences and build lasting resilience.
IVResource Navigation
Curated, reliable guides to help families access the medical, educational, and psychosocial support they need at every stage.
This is not
a rare condition.
It is invisible.
Congenital heart disease is the most common birth defect in the world. More children die from CHD each year than from all childhood cancers combined. And most people have never heard those words spoken out loud.
Heartbeat Forward exists to close the gap between the scale of this disease and the world's awareness of it.
1 in 100
babies born every year with a structural heart defect present since before their first breath
40,000+
babies born with CHD in the United States alone every single year
1M+
babies born globally with congenital heart disease annually
85%+
of children with CHD now survive into adulthood when they receive proper care
Now Available
The Quiet
The Quiet
Majority
Why Congenital Heart Disease Deserves to Be Seen
Written by Heartbeat Forward founder Adrian Adair, this book tells the full story of CHD through the lives of families who have lived it. Not a medical textbook. A human document.
All proceeds support Heartbeat Forward's mission to deliver care packages and fund life-saving surgeries for children in need.
Free Resources
Guides built for
View all resources →
Guides built for
every stage.
Diagnosis
The Day You Hear the Diagnosis
What to do, what to feel, and what to know in the hours and days after a CHD diagnosis.
Read the guide →
Surgery
Heart Surgery Parent Guide
A compassionate, practical guide for parents preparing for and navigating pediatric heart surgery.
Read the guide →
Mental Health
Parent Mental Health Guide
Your mental health matters. This guide addresses the emotional weight that CHD places on caregivers.
Read the guide →
First 90 Days
The First 90 Days After Diagnosis
A week-by-week guide to navigating the most overwhelming months of your family's CHD journey.
Read the guide →
Financial
Financial & Insurance Guide
Understanding your financial rights and insurance options when caring for a child with CHD.
Read the guide →
Family
Sibling Support Guide
The brothers and sisters of CHD children carry something too. This guide is written for them.
Read the guide →
Families
Apply for Support
If your child is living with CHD, we want to be there for you. Apply to receive a care package.
Apply →
Volunteers
Help Assemble & Deliver
Your hands help fill the boxes that fill the rooms that hold these children.
Volunteer →
Donors
Fund Hope
Every dollar becomes a care package, a resource, a moment of relief for a child who needs it.
Donate →
Partners
Integrate Our Programs
Hospitals, clinics, and nonprofits: bring this work into your care environment.
Partner →
About the Founder
I came to this cause not through personal pain, but through something harder to explain. A moral weight I could not set down.
Adrian Adair founded Heartbeat Forward in 2025 after spending years listening to the CHD community. He realized the gap between the scale of this disease and the world's awareness of it was not acceptable.
His long-term vision is to grow Heartbeat Forward into an organization capable of helping fund life-saving surgeries for children whose families cannot afford them. The care packages are only the beginning.
Meet Adrian Adair →
Adrian Adair
Founder, Heartbeat Forward
Survival is only
the beginning
of their story.
Heartbeat Forward nurtures hope, resilience, and healing — one care package, one conversation, and one creative moment at a time. Because every small heart deserves a loud voice.
Heartbeat Forward is a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code · EIN on file · Contributions are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law · Los Angeles, CA