This will be the 11th year Donatelle . . . Making Strides for Ava is participating in the Heartbeat 5000. Our team was created after Ava, the daughter of a Donatelle team member, was born with a life threatening congenital heart defect in 2006 and endured two open heart surgeries at Children’s in Minneapolis before she was a year old and, more recently, a third surgery at Boston Children’s in October 2015. Ava is a happy, healthy 10 year old that brings a smile to everyone's face. Donatelle and its team members continue to generously support this great event. The company sponsorship of the water stop, team member participant fees and donations totaled over $10,000 again in 2016 to benefit the cardiac care program at Children's Hospital. Please help us successfully increase our fund raising efforts in our 11th consecutive year by either joining our team and make strides with Ava or by donating to our team. Thank you in advance for your support!