Rycker’s Heart Heroes Foundation

Rycker’s Heart Heroes Foundation The Rycker’s Heart Heroes foundation is a 501c3 charitable nonprofit organization providing hope, changing lives and raising awareness to families with CHD

The BACKSTORY and MISSION OF RYCKER'S HEART HEROES CHARITY

Rycker's Heart Heroes initially started when the Founder's son was in the hospital undergoing Open Heart Surgery at 6 months. "He ended up having some pretty major complications and after multiple surgeries and procedures although Rycker was such a fighter and we tried to stay so positive. But to be honest there were alot of times he wo

uld be uncontrollable, crying, uncomfortable, with many tears from both of us,sleepless nights. i felt so sad, we would try to rock, sway, bounce him, snuggle (as much as we could with all the wires and tubes). Finally one of the nurses brought a 4 Moms Mamaroo, a baby swing, that i honestly thought would be like everything else we tried but it wasn't! After 10 minutes he was so relaxed and comforted he fell asleep and we did too for the first time we actually had a full nights of sleep and more! Unfortunately after researching it i knew we wouldn't be able to afford one when we got home. Plus we were having to share the one we had at the hospital with atleast 6-12 other rooms. So i took a chance and put out a post on Rycker's page to all our supporters who had been following along on his whole journey. I couldn't believe the response we had, i mean hundreds of comments,messages and more. The next day the lobby calls us and say "um are you guys expecting some things?"
I went down and saw 3 gently used Mamaroo AND received a message from the company themselves that they wanted to send us a BRAND new one! I couldn't believe it! I looked at all the gently used ones we had and thought about all the new ones the hospital needed and it was a no brainer. We were going to start the Rycker Roo Project to donate brand new mamaroos to the Cardiac units and gently used Mamaroos after discharge to babies in need! We donated about $2,500 or more worth of Mamaroos to the hospital and babies at home in need, while also announcing the start of the Rycker's Heart Heroes charity. Besides the Roo project we have been able to send comfort items like stuffies and ballons to kiddos in Children's hospital, help families raise hundreds of dollars while in the hospital with our fundraising system and plan to do so much more this year even after being hit with covid." Our mission this year to help our kiddos with cardiac issues and babies in need is to not only be able to expand our team and board but to be able to hold more virtual fundraisers but really have one of our first in person benefit fundraiser!"

Please feel free to message us and find out how you can contribute below

You can read more about the Rycker Roo Project here
www.Servingallmoms.com/ryckerrooproject

02/11/2026

Stop by and grab some yummy food at Annie Lee’s Southern Kitchen!
Rycker Roo will be there from 4-6pm. Celebrate heart Awareness month and the heart heroes like Rycker and so many like him who deal with CHD all over the world by wearing red today.
Thank you to Annie Lees, Terry, and his family for hosting us and being a great friend and support.
Due to my recent physical and mental health challenges, we were unable to do the Rycker’s Red Ribbon Awareness campaign hanging awareness ribbons for the month of February. So come grab a red awareness ribbon to show your support!
Magic, food, and the joy of Rycker Roo too!
Take out is available!

Also, PLEASE if you know any of our little heart hero patients who have recently had heart surgery or are in need, who can use the comfort and calm from a Mamaroo from The Rycker ROO Project please leave a comment or message!

Come Join us for food,fun,magic and the magic of joy Rycker Roo!*Also PLEASE if you know any of our little heart hero pa...
02/07/2026

Come Join us for food,fun,magic and the magic of joy Rycker Roo!

*Also PLEASE if you know any of our little heart hero patients who have recently had heart surgery or are in need, who can use the comfort and calm from a Mamaroo from The Rycker ROO Project please leave a comment or message!

Although Rycker being in the hospital for so long after having complications from his open heart surgery, it taught me s...
06/13/2025

Although Rycker being in the hospital for so long after having complications from his open heart surgery, it taught me so much and also helped me realize the strength that i grew to have that helped keep me sane, in a at times, a rough and difficult situation. It also showed me just how much support i had, not only from my now husband but even if it was from complete strangers, that grew to truly be a major part of Rycker's journey and apart of our family and the ultimate Rycker's Heart Heroes! As you can see in the comments seeing people show how much they cared about Rycker and our family was so humbling and made me realize how much Rycker's heart or as i say "one heart can affect many hearts" thank you all for your continued support!

Rycker’s Dad here! I just had to post this real quick before she realized I was doing it. I am so proud of Bridget. She has really gone the extra mile to get Rycker’s story out there and heard. Everything she does is for Rycker and to raise awareness, not just for Rycker but all the heart heroes out there. I’m glad the world gets to see what I have seen all along.

The 2nd ATR festival heat race is tomorrow! We are still looking for Heart Hero patient champions to be our VIPs for the...
06/13/2025

The 2nd ATR festival heat race is tomorrow! We are still looking for Heart Hero patient champions to be our VIPs for the next few races, so please shoot me a message or email at [email protected]
rain or shine cant wait to see ya there

We are holding the 3rd most exciting season of Ambridge Turtle Racing festival! May 17th, June 14th, July 12th, Aug 16. 4 races per season 10 heats per event

It’s that time of year again! Our little Rycker Roo turns 7! Come on down to our 4th annual Rita’s Italian Ice and Froze...
07/19/2024

It’s that time of year again! Our little Rycker Roo turns 7!
Come on down to our 4th annual Rita’s Italian Ice and Frozen custard
Birthday Bash Fundraiser for Rycker’s Heart Heroes (RHH) !
Rycker will be here until 4pm but you can still come one down til closing time to get yourself a yummy dessert as 20% of todays proceeds will be donated back to RHH.
We want to thank Paige, the owner of Rita’s who has continued to support our mission for these last 4-5 years and has showed us so much kindness and generosity and genuinely cares for Rycker like a brother.
Rita’s Italian Ice on 6154 Stuebanville pike McKees Rocks (it’s really in Robinson but considered the Rocks)

https://www.facebook.com/RitasOfSteubenvillePikePA

Thank you all for your continued support for all these years, you are all truly our heroes to our heart heroes !

Below is a Birthday tribute to Rycker.

Happy 7th Bday

Can you believe that our Rycker Roo is turns 7 years old today?! Where has the time gone?!
I am so incredibly proud of how far this fiercely independent little man has come. Through all the ups and downs he always comes out the other side with a smile on his face and joy in his heart. Just being in his presence makes you want to do good in this world and treat those around you with kindness and respect, the kind that we need more of. He has grown to be such a special, smart, strong, fearless, and courageous little boy who has made an impression on everyone he meets. He has made such an impact in his short 7 years of life and has shown the world the resilience,resolve and strength that can truly make a difference in the lives of others.
I know I may be bias but this boy is beyond perfect than words can express. He has and will continue to surprise me at every turn and show me just how determined and strong he truly is.
Happy 7th Birthday to my Baby Dear, my sweet Rycker Roo the one who made me a mother and changed my life for better, I can’t wait to see the leaps and bounds you will make this coming year and get to see you grow even more.

06/17/2024
Hey friends! This weekend we are celebrating Ambridge’s 200 year Bicentennial with a parade and festival at P.J. Caul pa...
06/08/2024

Hey friends! This weekend we are celebrating Ambridge’s 200 year Bicentennial with a parade and festival at P.J. Caul park (where we hold the Ambridge Turtle Racing festival) on the corner of 11th and Merchant. The RHH Foundation are so honored to be apart of it. So come on down and check out all the fun festivities. Rycker will be here at 11am and will be in the parade before they make their last stop here.
We will be here all weekend from 10am-12pm. Congratulations Ambridge for continuing to make this a wonderful community and place of hope,pride, and kindness!
Ambridge Bicentennial 2024
Ambridge Bicentennial Commitee
Ambridge Historic District EDC
Old Economy Village
Rycker Roo: The ups and Downs

100 handmade Rycker’s Heart Heroes Red Awareness Ribbons for CHD getting ready to go into the Ambridge Car Cruise goodie...
06/02/2024

100 handmade Rycker’s Heart Heroes Red Awareness Ribbons for CHD getting ready to go into the Ambridge Car Cruise goodie bags of everything that represents our amazing community,businesses and organizations!
Be sure to stop by at the Rycker’s Heart Heroes booth at the bicentennial celebration festival at PJ Caul park on 11th and Merchant in Ambridge next weekend. We will be there alongside some other great vendors on June 8th and 9th. (Exact Times will be updated)

If you or someone you know is in need of a 4moms Mamaroo baby swing that has CHD and recently had a surgery please contact us at www.Ryckersheartheroes.org and/or [email protected]

Wow what a day we had on Saturday at the kick off of the 2nd annual Ambridge Turtle Racing Festival! I’ve literally been...
05/21/2024

Wow what a day we had on Saturday at the kick off of the 2nd annual Ambridge Turtle Racing Festival! I’ve literally been on pure exhaustion mode since hence the late post We can’t thank everyone who took part in this awesome event that is now twice as big as last year! I want to thank the sponsors (we will be putting together a post of all 55 sponsors and 10 Vendors tagging specifically for them)
Boy was there a huge turn out this year! And even with a 50% of rain God made sure to give us an absolutely beautiful day!
Our first 6 races were sold out even before we did the opening ceremony, which included Beaver county District Attorney Nate Bible,Mary Jane council woman, from the Pittsburgh opera David Knause ( sorry if I spelled that completely wrong ) who did the opening ceremony National Anthem, Pastor Matt who did a prayer over all the families and participants, and Father Nick from UPMC Children’s hospital who did the blessing of the turtles,holy water and all.
A huge thank you to all of our volunteers and to Emily and Sophia who did their senior project on the Ryckers Heart Heroes foundation, you guys were such a big help at the RHH booth!
We want to congratulate all the winners and thank Beaver County photography who took all of our winners portraits along with some other great shots of the day.
Don’t fret if you were unable to make Saturday’s race as we will be having 1 every 3rd Saturday of the month from June til August, all final winners will be invited back to the Grand championship race in August.
Big thank you to the following raffle basket sponsors!
Pittsburgh Steelers







Just a few of the shots I got. I’ll share Beaver County Photography shots separate.

Hey friends! I know I have a few people on my friends list that are crafty and know how to use a cricket. Ambridge Turtl...
05/10/2024

Hey friends! I know I have a few people on my friends list that are crafty and know how to use a cricket. Ambridge Turtle Racing is coming up and we need more customized metals for our winners. Last year a friend made them from small mason jar caps and put our logo on them and put them on a black ribbon to go around our winners necks. We need 40 but need at least 10 of them even if we can just get 10 small decals about 2 1/2 inches before this coming Friday that would be a major help. I’ve included the logo below. Please message me if you are able to do it. Thanks!! We have a Zip drive file of the logo but below is just a screenshot and a picture of one of our winners,sorry it’s really blurry!

If you are interested in coming to the Ambridge Turtle Racing festival it starts Saturday May 18th and is a full turtle festival with everything from turtle shaped pizzas to pirogies, bounce house and inflatable obstacle courses, to arts and crafts and a turtle ducks pond and inflatable slides. And of course the main event Live turtle racing! We have over 30 turtles to choose from sponsored by our local businesses like a nascar race….but slower! or you can bring your own! Great food, good fun and family friendly! Part of the proceeds go to towards 3 scholastic scholarships for our chosen volunteers and to Rycker’s Heart Heroes Foundation ! Event goes til September every 3rd Saturday of the month.

We are so grateful to Emily and Sofia and honored that they chose the Rycker’s Heart Heroes Foundation to not only doing...
04/30/2024

We are so grateful to Emily and Sofia and honored that they chose the Rycker’s Heart Heroes Foundation to not only doing this exciting fundraiser but for choosing us to do their senior project on our non profit.
You guys have done an amazing job and we can’t tell you how much the RHH appreciates your efforts! Can’t wait for the game. Also thank you to all of our Bridgers support,kindness, and generosity!
Be sure to follow our non profits FB page (above) and check out Rycker Roo: The ups and Downs personal FB blog page to follow along on our journey through all of our ups and downs, Rycker’s smiles, giggles and more!

If you would like to make a contribution or find out more info about our cause and how you can make an impact check out our website
www.RyckersHeartHeroes.org

Last Game of the 2024 season!!! Join us at the Moe this Wednesday at 6:30 PM. This is #15, Emily’s senior project to support the Rycker’s Heart Heroes Foundation!!!

Hey guys! If you are in Ambridge come on down and stop by Park st an 8th to the Arts and Crafts vendor show and visit us...
04/20/2024

Hey guys! If you are in Ambridge come on down and stop by Park st an 8th to the Arts and Crafts vendor show and visit us! We have T shirts, mugs, ribbons (big and small) and other fun goodies! Also check out our other vendors!
We will be here til 2pm!

www.Ryckersheartheroes.org

Address

P. O Box 272
Ambridge, PA
15003

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 4pm
Tuesday 9am - 4pm
Wednesday 9am - 4pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

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