CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) – Former Carolina Panthers tight end and Super Bowl LVII Greg Olsen is teaming up with LendingTree in February’s Heart Month.
On Wednesday, Olsen shared his family’s experience with a heart diagnosis in 2013. His son, TJ, received a heart transplant at eight years old.
“He was born with half of a heart,” Olsen said.
The journey to recovery prompted him and his wife to partner with the Atrium Health Foundation to create the HEARTest Yard Program. The program helps support families of children with congenital heart diseases.
Following a Q&A from LendingTree staff, Olsen and LendingTree’s CEO Doug Lebda toured the Atrium Health Levine Children HEARtest Yard Congenital Heart Center to hand-deliver 250 goodie bags to patients and their families.
According to LendingTree, the clinic sees more than 100 patients a day.
“It’s partnerships like this in the community, like LendingTree, that allow us to continue to grow our reach, and allow us to continue to grow our impact and continue to service more families and then also be able to provide better care and better access to care to those families,” Olsen said.
“We were able to bring in all of the items to pack these goodie bags yesterday,” said LendingTree’s head of corporate citizenship, April Whitlock. “Our employees were able to take a break, come down into our town hall, enjoy a heart-healthy snack, and pack some goodie bags, knowing that we’re going to go to the children who are currently at the Levine Hospital.”
Like Olsen, LendingTree is also familiar with the impacts of heart health.
The company lost its original chief technology officer, Rick Stiegler, from a heart attack in 2004.
“So, we like to honor his memory with this. And Greg Olsen and I are on the Atrium Foundation Board, which does a wonderful amount of work in the community,” Lebda said. “So, we thought it was a great way to bring all of those things together, get our employees in the office, participating in something that can actually help kids who are in the hospital.”
