Holly Anne Blankenship was born July 21, 1993, and spent her short time with us glorifying God with her generosity, love and kindness; that she extended to all she met. On July 14, 2017, our family said our last good-byes to our daughter, our sister, Holly Anne Blankenship, who died after succumbing to the injuries she sustained in an automobile accident. Even in her passing, she was able to positively impact strangers and save 4 lives.

THE IDEA

While in the hospital, we were blessed to have family suggest recording Holly's heartbeat. The idea evolved from recording a voice memo on a cell phone to the use of miniature recorders/speakers that could be placed in stuffed animals. Currently recordings of Holly's heartbeat reside in multiple forms of keepsakes for many family members and provide comfort to our family during difficult times. We knew that Holly would want us to spread this wonderful idea to families going through similar experiences. Through our faith, Holly’s Heart Foundation was formed. Our first and primary initiative was creating Heartbeat for Heroes in Holly’s memory. We wish to continue to glorify God with the same characteristics seen in her; generosity, love, and kindness.

THEY SAY, “EVERYONE IS DESTINED TO DO GREAT THINGS”...

It’s hard knowing that Holly’s great thing was saving the lives of others while losing her's to do that. As an organ donor, she has been able to continue to impact the lives of others not only through providing recipients a second chance at life but also allowing their families to hold off on their last good-byes. Holly is a hero, as all organ donors are heroes, and we at Holly's Heart Foundation strive to keep the memory of these individuals alive with their families, friends, and loved ones through the distribution of a stuffed animal containing the sound of the hero’s heartbeat. We hope what we are offering with these keepsakes will somehow bring a little comfort to families going through the same experience as ours.