My name is Kathryn Towle and along with my husband Michael, we founded the VT Cardiac Kids as we are proud parents of a Heart Hero. Our group started in 2013 when we moved to Vermont from Upstate NY and found no such group to be part of. 

Our son, Jack, was born with a VSD and an ASD. His congenital heart defects were discovered at the age of 3 months when we were referred to the UVM Children's Hospital to see a cardiac specialist. 

At first when he was diagnosed I spent hours and hours trying to find blogs and facebook groups to join to connect with other parents and learn about other kids experiences. I learned that 1 in 100 babies are born with a congenital heart defect, it is the most common birth defect. 25% of children born with a CHD will need a heart surgery or other interventions to survive.

Our family moved to Vermont in 2013, from upstate NY and I started putting together this amazing group of Heart Heros, Siblings and their parents. Our first event was a breakfast with Santa, which had 7 kids in attendance in 2014, our most recent event had 26 kids in attendance. This group was developed for not only parents to connect, but for our kids to know that they are not alone; that there are other kids who have been through similar things and they can come together through special events with their siblings and family members and just be kids and have fun. Our annual events include apple picking, a tour at the VT Teddy Bear Factory, Breakfast with Santa, and a summer baseball game at Lake Monsters.  We are so fortunate to have the support of Dr. Drucker and the pediatric cardiology department at UVMMC. We love adding new families! 

In 2023, we officially incorporated in the State of Vermont and received our 501(c)(3) status as VT Cardiac Kids, Inc. We appreciate your support in both spreading the word about our group, volunteers to make our events successful, our Christmas Secret Santa gift sponsors and monetary sponsors.