About Kick Start My Heart

Kick Start My Heart is a charitable foundation created by a group of Boulder, CO soccer enthusiasts in 2005. The foundation organizes annual soccer marathons and other events, raising funds to provide Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs), emergency training and cardiovascular wellness education at local schools and sports facilities, specifically to benefit in the event of traumatic heart conditions.

Nationwide, over 5,000 to 7,000 children and young adults die each year from cardiac issues. In most cases, their lives could have been saved by Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and a portable AED. Athletic children are particularly susceptible to sudden cardiac arrest, but people of all ages can experience traumatic, life-threatening heart events. 300,000 people die in the US from Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) every year killing more than HIV/AIDS, breast cancer, and lung cancer combined. Survival rates can jump from 5% to nearly 75% with availability of an Automated External Defibrillator.

An American Heart Association study found that on any given day in US, 20% of the combined adult and child populations can be found in schools. Several states have laws that require schools to have CPR training and an AED. Colorado is not one of these states. Kick Start My Heart aims to fill that gap, generating community support to achieve our goal. An AED placement package with necessary accessories and full educational training, costs approximately $1900-2400. The success of our foundation makes possible that every school and sports facility has access to an AED and cardiovascular education, to save the lives of teammates and loved ones.

With over $198,665 raised to date, Kick Start My Heart has placed 102 AEDs all over Colorado, ranging from Boulder to Castle Rock, from Denver to Colorado Springs, from Windsor to Pueblo. To achieve these results, nearly every dollar raised from donations and sponsorship goes directly to the cause, due to the all-volunteer foundation committee donating their time and expertise, and local facilities and retailers donating time and merchandise for our fund raising events. 

Kick Start My Heart operates as program of the Well Nourished Foundation providing full Section 501(c)(3) nonprofit tax-exempt status; therefore all donations to Kick Start My Heart are tax-deductible contributions.

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