Meet Andi, Founder of Artful Hearts
Hello everyone, I'm Andi.
Thank you for your interest in Artful Hearts! I am very passionate about serving others and getting others involved in service--that's what drives me to succeed. I attend the University of North Carolina School of the Arts High School and am a rising senior studying classical voice. I have been involved in the Miss America's Outstanding Teen Organization for three years, and am currently woking to become Miss North Carolina's Outstanding Teen 2021. I love theater and am very involved with Thalian Association Community Theater and Opera House Theatre Company based in Wilmington, North Carolina. I absolutely love meeting new people, traveling, and anything Disney! Feel free to reach out to me on instagram @andicreech
Why was Artful Hearts created?
Through theater I met Ella Grae, the most outgoing, energetic, bubbly person I have ever met. Little did I know, my sweet friend Ella had been born with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS). HLHS is congenital birth defect in which the left side of the heart is severely underdeveloped.
Later, through family friends, I met Ande Trawick, who had also been born with HLHS and an equally outgoing personality. I saw the struggles that these little girls and their families faced every single day and wanted to support them in any way that I could.
HLHS is 1 in 10,000 so I knew that Ande and Ella had been placed in my life for a reason. This reason was Artful Hearts for the purpose of spreading awareness and representing them, and others like them, through this organization.
- Andi
What does Artful Hearts fundraise for?
Artful Hearts is based in North Carolina, so the funds we obtain usually stay in state.
Donations, and funds raised through events, go the different North Carolina chapters of the American Heart Association. The main chapter donated to, is the Cape Fear Chapter in Eastern North Carolina, because this is the original partner of Artful Hearts. (click "Service Work" to see my work with Cape Fear -Andi)
Not only does Artful Hearts work with the American Heart Association, but also with small organizations and groups around North Carolina with the same mission. Very specifically, The Trawick Pediatric and Cardiology Research Fund, an organization very close to Artful Hearts, which works directly with Duke Hospital to research for HLHS in honor of Ande Trawick.
Artful Hearts is an organization that is driven to help any family, organization, or large corporation in any way it can.
What is the ultimate goal and mission for Artful Hearts?
Artful Hearts' mission is to spread education for heart-disease prevention, advocate for individuals with Congenital Heart Defects and any other heart related issues, as well as fundraise for the American Heart Association and other small organizations with the mission of improving heart disease statistics.
Artful Hearts will remind those afflicted with heart disease "that even though you may not have a perfect heart, you are perfect at heart."
One of the big goals is to reach as many kids in elementary and middle school as possible by visiting schools all across North Carolina, educating and teaching lifesaving CPR.
During Covid-19, I had to get creative because physically going into schools wasn't an option. So, I started social media pages on several different platforms giving people the resources they needed to stay heart healthy. Each week I host cardio classes, share healthy recipes, and feature heart warriors.
This year I also launched the 'Artful Hearts Teen Ambassodor Program' targeting teens in high school like me. This has given me more opportunities to educate teens on how they can prevent heart disease so they can do the same for their peers. I now have teens in the program from 6 different states who are keeping their heart healthy by taking and teaching cardio classes.
"I believe this program will create a chain effect of healthier lives making the communities of North Carolina and beyond heart healthier." -Andi