Greg Olsen is bringing The HEARTest Yard back to Yoga on Tap tonight.
The initiative is part of Olsen’s Foundation in honor of his four-year-old son TJ, who was born with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome.
The congenital heart disease, which is complex and rare (1 out of every 4,344 babies are born with the condition), makes it hard for oxygen-rich blood to reach the rest of the baby’s body.
“I wish I was as tough as [TJ],” Olsen has said of his son’s multiple open-heart surgeries. “What he’s gone through in the first eight months of his life is more than any of us have gone through in a lifetime.”
via Facebook
To help other parents and children impacted by the condition, Olsen and his wife teamed up with Levine Children’s Hospital to create The HEARTest Yard and provide families with services like in-home and private care, physical therapy and speech therapy at no charge. The goal is to improve the mortality rate, increase life expectancy and create a better long-term prognosis for patients.
Since its inception, Olsen has put on and attended a multitude of events.
The next is a HEARTest Yard-themed Yoga on Tap at Olde Mecklenburg Brewery tonight, October 25.
The class, which will focus on a heart-opening sequence, will be taught by local yoga teacher Erica Kiely, who leads classes at Be Yoga, Laughing Buddha and private sessions.
Admission is $5 and includes a beer or soda (bring your own mat). There will also be live music, t-shirts and a silent auction and all proceeds benefit The HEARTest Yard. Class begins at 6:30 p.m., but it’s recommended you get there early. Details.
Learn more about Olsen’s charitable efforts:
The HEARTest Yard, Web
Receptions for Research: The Greg Olsen Foundation
Feature photo via Facebook
