AMELIA, Jennifer's daughter, sleeps in the hospital as a premature baby when she was just eight days old. She weighed less than four pounds here.
AMELIA, Jennifer's daughter, sleeps in the hospital as a premature baby when she was just eight days old. She weighed less than four pounds here.
The gumbo cookoff is the only fundraiser hosted by HAW. However, the organization does accept monetary and material donations during the rest of the year.
The Saturday event will feature teams competing to be the best in the chicken and sausage gumbo category and the seafood gumbo category.
Applications are being accepted now and can be found at www.heartstringsandangelwings.org or by calling Chef Colt Patin at 337-277-6745.
There is a $50 entry fee per category for all teams.
Registration for all teams begins at 10 a.m., and awards will be handed out at 9:30 p.m.
There is a $10 entry fee for the general public; a portion of this fee goes to HAW.
Those attending will get all-you-can-eat gumbo. There will also be live music by the Nik-L–Beer Band beginning at 8 p.m. A DJ will be playing during the remainder of the competition.
Crawfish Town USA will have a cash bar at the event, where a portion of the proceeds will go to HAW.
While the competitors are cooking, there will be a silent auction and raffle. Raffle tickets are on sale now, and available by contacting the organization via email or by phone. The top prize is $1,000.
Silent auction items are being accepted now.
Behind every fundraiser is an interesting story.
This one began in 2008 when Rachel Patin, HAW president, and Jennifer Patin, HAW vice president, saw a need to clothe preemie babies.
Initially, HAW was formed after the birth of Heath Logan, a Breaux Bridge native and a relative of the Patins. Logan was born 16 weeks too soon, weighing a mere one pound and seven ounces at birth, and stretching out to a length shorter than that of a pen.
After Logan’s birth, the family was in shock, scared, and didn’t know where to turn.
“We keep this going because we know what it means to be a NICU parent, and more importantly, what it feels like,” said Jennifer Patin. “We understand that it’s stressful, and the loss of control over your own child is not an easy thing to deal with.”
At the time of Heath’s birth the Logan’s could find only a couple of places which sold clothes for NICU babies, and those clothes were pricey.
After giving birth to a premature baby of her own, Jennifer Patin was pushed to start HAW and create a service that would benefit members of families with premature babies.
“Our clothing and items we provide to the family help the parent become more involved in their child’s early life in the NICU, and makes them feel more like a parent,” said Patin.
HAW has donated to babies in the NICU throughout Louisiana.
They will continue to provide families with clothing for their premature babies, so that those families can stay focused on what’s most important...their newborn who needs their utmost attention.
(For those interested in learning more about the organization, or for information about becoming a volunteer, contact HAW at www.heartstringsandangelwings.org or call Jennifer at 337-444-6125.)
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