When I was ten I lost my father to a massive heart attack.
Completely out of the blue, I watched the world crumble in front of my family. Wanting to prevent others from feeling what my family was experiencing, I created 1,000 silicone bracelets that said “HAVE A HEART” on them.
Just with this simple act, I was able to raise over $2,000 for the American Heart Association. Now I am a college student at Quinnipiac University and felt the need to find another way to honor my dad. Close to a decade later, I still feel the effects of losing a parent to a heart attack, which is why I came back to the Have A Heart concept and launched a crowd funding campaign.
The goal is to raise $10,000 online which will then go to fund a scholarship for a student who has lost a loved one to a heart related incident.
After the initial shock of losing my father, the reality of what life would be like from now on was evident in one seemingly simple, but major change – my mom had to get a job. Up until my dad died, my mom had never worked. It bothered me to think that not only was she now responsible for raising two boys alone, but she also had to provide for us financially and deal with having lost her husband and us having lost a dad.
When it came time for me to go to college, I thought I would get enough financial aid to choose my school without worrying about money; this wasn’t the case. I got almost no financial aid from any school, and suddenly my college decision was influenced mostly by what my parents could afford. Only thing is that it wasn’t parents, it was parent. It was my mom bearing the cost of my going to college, parenting my brother and I alone, plus everything else that came with losing our dad.
Losing a parent is hard in ways that you don’t really understand until you’re in it.
This is why I chose to have the money from Have A Heart create a scholarship. I want students who have lost a parent to a heart attack to not feel cornered; I want them to be able to be able to choose the college they want to go to without having to worry about tuition payments. I am aware that there are a lot of financial burdens that come with losing a parent suddenly to a heart problem (or in any way), but I want to make sure that tuition is not one of them.
Editor’s note: To help Bobby reach his $10,000 goal, donate here.
After reading this article I am sitting here with tears flowing. I am the mother of two boys and we lost our rock, our anchor, to a heart attack. He was 52. Our stories seem to be identical. I am trying to figure out how to pay for college for my son and I was Googling different scholarships available to children who have lost a parent to heart disease and came across this one. God bless you and the work you are doing. I know your father is proud of you!
How does my son apply for college he lost his dad to heart disease November 1, 2014 and would like to go to college
Is this scholarship still going on? Just this September (2015), I lost my father due to a heart related problem. It was very sudden and has been a very hard time on my family. I am one of eleven siblings. My mother passed away from cancer in 2004. I am trying to get through college and get out into the world, but now it just got harder because I don’t have my Dad to turn to anymore. I will not give up though. I want to make both of my parents proud.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and I am sorry for your loss. Losing a parent sucks so bad.