Alice Marleaux is one of the strongest mamas I have ever met. One year ago, her sweet son, Oliver (“Ollie”), was diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy at a mere four weeks old. Alice and her husband, Evan, embraced this diagnosis with an abundant amount of grace and have documented Sweet Ollie’s heart journey. Inevitably, Ollie was in need a heart transplant to save his life…meaning he would need a donor to give their heart, for him. 
In honor of Ollie’s One Year “Heart-A-Versary”, this incredible family wants to give back to the same community responsible for giving their son a second chance at life. The Marleaux family wishes to continue to extend their gratitude for his donor and their family through the gift of giving. They will be holding a toy drive, Toys from the Heart, until April 23rd, 2017, through Child Life at the Levine Children’s Hospital.
In describing the toy drive, Alice Marleaux explaines, “We’re going out on a limb here and hoping desperately that others want to help us celebrate the gift of life and Ollie’s heartaversary. We’re hoping that we can take a brave, selfless gift of love and make the ripples of that action extend far and wide. We’re hoping that you’ll help us say thank you in a beautiful loving way.”
In response to their wishes, Child Life at the Levine Children’s Hospital has sent the following list of much needed items for their youngest (newborns/infants) patients. ***All items MUST be new for sanitation purposes***
-Little lovies
-Small stuffed animals
-Rattles
-Teethers
-Board books in Spanish and English
-Crib soothers
-Any type of cause and effect toy
Three ways to help this incredible cause:
1. GIVE MONEY: Make a monetary donation to Sweet Ollie’s You Caring Page. All donations made will be used to buy the above listed items.
2. USE AMAZON: The Marleaux Family has created an Amazon wish list of items to make this really easy. There are items ranging from $2.50 to $36.00. The list can be found here. Once you put things in your cart and proceed to check out, make sure to select the delivery address “Sweet Ollie” which should be second after your home address.
3. GO SHOPPING/DROP OFF: If you’d like to go shopping with your family for any of these items, feel free to do that.
Your donation WILL make a difference in the life of a child.
Want to follow Ollie’s story? Click, here.
“Be the change that you wish to see in the world”. –Mahatma Gandhi
