RALEIGH, N.C. - Amy Daniels, Executive Director of the Carolina Hurricanes Foundation, today announced that the team is donating $50,000 to The HEARTest Yard, as part of the Hurricanes’ special playoff grant initiative. The Carolina Hurricanes Foundation will provide a donation to a deserving nonprofit during each round of the 2026 NHL playoffs that the Hurricanes reach.
“The Carolina Hurricanes Foundation is proud to join forces with Former NFL Star Greg Olsen and his wife, Kara, and the HEARTest Yard team to benefit more kids born with heart defects,” said Daniels. “This grant will allow The HEARTest Yard to continue to serve the Charlotte region while also expanding to help families in the Triangle.”
This will be the second time the Carolina Hurricanes have teamed up with The HEARTest Yard. In 2024, the Carolina Hurricanes Foundation made a grant to assist in placing a book vending machine at Levine Children's Hospital in Charlotte. As young heart warriors reach milestones in their care like getting a transplant or completing treatments, they receive a special coin to choose a book from the HEARTest Yard book vending machine, giving them a source of education and entertainment during their hospital stay.
"We’re so grateful to the Carolina Hurricanes Foundation for supporting the heart families we serve across the Carolinas! This generous gift will help us reach even more heart patients and their families — providing care, connection, and support when they need it most." said Executive Director of the HEARTest Yard, Molly Ansbro.
About The HEARTest Yard
Established in 2013 by former Carolina Panther Greg Olsen and his wife Kara, The HEARTest Yard is the first and only family support and service program for pediatric cardiovascular patients and their families in the Carolinas. The HEARTest Yard, a program under Receptions for Research: The Greg Olsen Foundation, supports families of children with congenital heart disease with in-home nursing care and comprehensive medical services at MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children's Hospital in Charleston, SC and Atrium Health Levine Children's Hospital in Charlotte, NC. The Foundation seeks to provide a happier, healthier future for heart kids. For more info, click here.
About the Carolina Hurricanes Foundation
As the charitable arm of the Carolina Hurricanes, the Foundation takes pride in being a part of the community both on and off the ice. The Foundation strives to be an agent of change by meeting the
health and educational needs of underserved populations in the community where we work, live, and play. Since the Foundation's inception in 1997, more than $17 million has been donated in grants and in-kind support to youth-serving organizations. For more information on the Foundation, please click here.
