Touching hearts. Saving Lives.
who we are
One of the most common questions we get about The Heart2Heart Foundation is how we are different from other organizations focused on heart disease. The answer is actually quite simple. Our primary focus is on early detection and we keep the funds we raise in the communities we serve.
After realizing there was no organization dedicated to addressing heart disease prevention in her community, heart attack survivor Sheila Caldwell felt that her mission was to help more women and men learn their risk for the disease and how to win the fight against our #1 killer. Sheila along with a group of women including co-founder Deb King created the concept of what would become The Heart2Heart Foundation. With an extensive background with international, national and local nonprofits Sheila and her husband, Bill, made the decision to incorporate the organization with South Carolina in November of 2012. Thus began the journey of our volunteer-led organization.
Our focus comes down to three basic elements:
1) AWARENESS - With only about half of the women in the US aware that heart disease is our greatest health threat, the foundation of our work in the community is to educate adults and youth about the disease but - more importantly - how positive lifestyle changes can prevent it! When you consider that about 80% of the risk factors that lead to heart disease can be prevented or managed, we have HOPE! We have the power to change this!
2) ACTION - It's astonishing to think that most of us find out that we have heart disease only after we have a heart or, worse, our family learns of it when we die. Studies have shown that through prevention, early detection and timely interventions, about half of the 600,000+ adults we lose each year to heart disease could have been saved. We want to move women and men from awareness to action by helping them learn their individual risk and the steps to take next to prevent heart attack, stroke, and premature death.
3) ADVOCACY - Women are a powerful force for change and we want to harness that power to save lives. It begins with each of us: understanding our own risk, learning and adopting lifestyle choices to improve our heart health and then sharing that with our family, friends and community. Even today, women's heart health is still under-researched, under-diagnosed and under-treated. We need women who will lend their voices to sharing this message!
2013
The Heart2Heart Foundation launches with our first gala celebration during Heart Month. We partnered with local health providers like Piedmont Medical Center, Carolina Cardiology Associates & Palmetto Cardiology of York County to begin our local outreach.
2014
In 2014, we began working with the Office of SC Governor Nikki Haley and SC DHEC to launch our heart health screening campaign to other areas of the state.
Demand for our programs continued to grow in our area.
2015
This was a big year for us as we launched the new Statewide Screening Day with seven events across the state. We also worked with local schools on Katie Couric's Fed Up Education Campaign. In the fall, we began our collaboration with Irish Heart Awareness to educate the community about coronary artery calcium scans.
2016
While our founding mission focuses on women's health, it became glaringly clear that to make a difference in the overall health of our community, we needed a robust program to reach our youth as well. This year, we partnered with the Rock Hill School District to launch our annual Back2School Block Party
2017
Our outreach and impact continues as we receive more opportunities to share our message with more communities across the state of South Carolina.
In 2017, The Heart2Heart Foundation was named Outstanding Community Partner by Rock Hill Schools.
2018
In 2018, our speaking and exhibit opportunities included large conferences and events in Charlotte, Columbia and Charleston.
This year, we began recruiting women for our #RedHeartMamas group. Our Statewide Screening Day was expanded to the entire month of February.
2019
Since our launch in 2013, through the help of our incredible group of volunteers and program partners , we have shared our message of prevention and hope with more than 35,000 adults and youth. In addition almost 7,600 women and men have learned their personal risk for heart disase!
2020
In February of 2020, we had no idea that right after our event at the SC State House that the entire world would be turned upside down. We turned our outreach into virtual programs. This included our annual Queen of Hearts Gala and Back2School Block Party in 2020.
We launched our Save the Saviors Program but had to pause the in-person aspect. Instead, we partnerned with NAMI Piedmont Tri-County to focus on mental health.
2021
While the pandemic continued to affect how we could serve people, we participated in mitigation efforts and continued to produce virtual awareness and educational programs.
Our Back2School Block Party was held as a drive-through event in Rock Hill.
We continued our efforts with Saving the Saviors to reach our first responders.
2022
As the world began to return to our new normal, we began slowly rebuilding our in-person programs. While our community screenings programs were suspended, we continued our events and took precautions so we could begin our outreach again.
This year, we worked with the Singhi Charitable Foundation to expand the Saving the Saviors program.
2023
Based on early success from the Saving the Saviors pilot program, we expanded this program to include teachers and nurses as well.
Our in-person programs returned and we were able to resume community and corporate health events to share our message with more!
2024
OUr home base is York County, SC yet, this year we were able to launch a chapter in Tennessee! We held our first community event in July there.
We continue to hold events and programs in South Carolina as well as producing virtual programs for our followers around the country,
We also introduced a new awareness event: Pin the Heart on Grinch at ChristmasVille!
2025
This year, we are working with the Singhi Charitable Foundation to expand our Frontline Heroes Wellness Fund. Our #RedHeartMamas host our community service projects including the Back2School Block Party in July.
In Tennessee, we are launching our awareness, education and screening initiatives through a collaborative partnership with Ballad Health,
2026
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