Ben & Jerry’s West Hartford will host an ice cream social to benefit GG’s Hearts during Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week.

Submitted

In honor of Congenital Hearts Defect (CHD) Awareness Week, Ben & Jerry’s West Hartford will be hosting a fundraiser on Friday, Feb. 10 to benefit GG’s Hearts, a nonprofit charity which provides special teddy bears to children undergoing heart surgery.

A percentage of all ice cream sales between 5-10 p.m. will be donated to GG’s Hearts. In addition, any child with a CHD who visits during this time will be given a free kids size ice cream cup or cone of their choice.

Founded by 13-year-old Gabriella Giordano, who underwent successful open heart surgery due to a Congenital Heart Defect, GG’s Hearts has distributed 200 teddy bears to children throughout the region with heart issues. These special teddy bears are designed with a flat back, for children to hold against their chest post-surgery to help keep the lungs clear. Each bear is funded solely on donations and wears a special GG’s Hearts t-shirt.

To date, more than 200 bears have been donated to children with heart issues at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center , Yale-New Haven Children’s Hospital, Boston Children’s Hospital, Maine Medical, and even Ghana. They have also been donated to Little Hearts, a nonprofit support group for families of children who have a heart issue.

CHD Awareness Week, Feb. 7 – 14, 2017, is an annual awareness effort to help educate the public about Congenital Heart Defects, the number-one birth defect that affects approximately one in every 125 babies every year in the United States alone.

The ice cream social event is open to the public, and will be held from 5-10 p.m., at Ben & Jerry’s, 5 ½ South Main Street, West Hartford.

For more information about GG’s Hearts, visit the organization’s website or Facebook.