About
Lion Heart is committed to finding a cure for breast cancer. Founded and led by Kathleen van Rijn, Lion Heart supports Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale New Haven and the Yale Cancer Center by endowing breast cancer research grants.
Please note that the web address in this video has been changed from lionheart.everdayhero.do to our new address at lionheart.donordrive.com
How does Lion Heart raise funds?
Lion Heart is truly a team. We support each other and raise funds together. We do this by organizing various events. We have a team walk and dinner in New York City where we celebrate our achievements, bear witness and hear from our nationally recognized breast cancer researchers.
We hold and support "Lap-a-Thons" in Connecticut which are fundraising swim events involving high school swimmers from the Southern Connecticut Conference and younger swimmers from private swim clubs. In 2023 we also had participation from Fordham University’s Men’s and Women’s Swim Teams and Long Island University’s Swim Team.
Many other smaller fundraising events occur throughout the year and many Lion Hearts form their own teams and fund raise on the Lion Heart website. For example, this year, Rumanoff’s Jewelry Store in Hamden, CT, held an all-day Lion Heart sales event. During October’s breast cancer awareness month, Claire’s CornerCopia held their own successful fundraiser for Lion Heart.
All these events to date have generated over $1,650,000 in our fight against breast cancer. In 2023, Lion Heart raised $ 150,000.
How does Lion Heart spend the funds raised?
100% of money raised goes into the Lion Heart Fund for Breast Cancer Research. There are no overhead or administrative costs.
In a competitive process, we receive applications for research grants, from the Yale Cancer Center researchers looking for pilot funding to begin interesting new avenues of exploration. Our funding has the potential to aid breakthrough research and truly make a difference.
Each February we report to our donors the results of the prior year's grants. Each of our grants is tracked over the long term so that we understand the impact we are having. In May of each year these annual tracking results are shared with our donors.
With the research capacity of Yale Cancer Center, and our funding, our goal is to find a cure for breast cancer.
How was Lion Heart established?
Kathleen van Rijn founded Lion Heart after her 2006 breast cancer diagnosis. Now Kathleen is a two-time survivor (2006 and 2010). Her 5 sisters suggested the first walk in 2006 in New York. The establishment of the team followed, as did five more walks in New York, while the team grew each year. At that time, Lion Heart established its relationship with Yale Cancer Center and the Breast Center, with whom we have forged a true partnership in the fight against breast cancer.
Why are we called Lion Heart?
When Kathleen was diagnosed in 2006 and started to fight the disease, her father was dying. He gave her strength with his words: "You have the heart of a lion. You will beat this." His final gift, the Lion Heart name.