beatinghearts.org

Last night was an magical night. I was invited to attend the Give Back Hollywood Pre-American Music Awards party hosted by Kevin Jonas (Jonas brothers). Mr Todd Krim, President of GBH Foundation, did an amazing job.

There were lots of celebrities in attendance along with several artists from the music industry which included British hip hop sensation Estelle and AMA nominee's Hot Chelle Rae who performed. They are awesome!!

The surprise of the night for me came was when I was presented with the 2011 Miracle Child Award by the Children's Miracle Network and presented to me by Estelle and Kevin Jonas. It was amazing! Estelle and Kevin were so gracious and kind. They really made me feel special.

I want thank CMNH President John Lauck and CMNH Public Relations Director Kelli Davis for giving me this beautiful award. Its an honor to work with such a special group of people who care so much for the children of our community.

God bless you all for your for support of CMN Hospitals and for making it an unforgettable night for me!!




Eileen and Kevin Jonas


Eileen & DJ C-Squared AKA (Connor Cruise)


Eileen, Kevin Jonas, & Hot Chelle Rae receive last minute info from DJ.


Eileen with fellow CHLA patient pal Andrea Valero.


Host Kevin Jonas addresses the crowd.


Estelle presenting Eileen with the 2011 Miracle Child Award.


Eileen addresses the crowd prior to her performance.


Eileen performs for the crowd.


Eileen with Estelle after her performance.


Eileen with Hot Chelle Rae after their performance. Congratulations on your AMA win
for best new artist!!


Eileen & CMNH President John Lauck and Public Relations Director Kelli Davis

 
Eileen holding her 2011 Miracle Child Award.


Eileen joking with Chris & Kyle (hoodie) Massey.

This past week was amazing. I was invited to the Children's Miracle Network's annual "Celebration" event held at Disney World in Orlando Florida. It was four days of celebrating the lives of CMN Champions.

The CMN Champions are amazing kids that have over come terrible illnesses. I got to meet many of them and loved them all. They inspired me for my performance on Saturday evening at Disney's Contemporary Resort. It was an honor performing for the kids, families, and guests.

There were several celebrities, doctors, and special guests on hand. It was great to see so many folks working together to celebrate the lives of these very special children. I had the opportunity to meet American Idol star David Archuleta and country super star Mark Wills. David was very sweet and Mark made me laugh so much my stomach hurt! Their performances were amazing. It was a pleasure meeting both of them.

I also got to meet Meredith Vieira who was the evenings host along with John Schneider. Ms Viera was very nice and I really enjoyed meeting her. Mr Schneider was one of the original founders of CMN and it was nice to see him again. He's a very special man. God bless him.

I got to meet CMNH President John Lauck and CMN founders Joe Lake and Mick Shannon who have done so much for the children of our nation. They are very special. 

I want to thank Eric Handa from Disney and Larry for picking us up at the airport and taking us to our hotel. Larry was very funny and told jokes all the way there. They were great!

It was a very special four days filled with amazing kids, stories, people, and memories. Thank you CMN for allowing me to be a part of this beautiful event. God bless you for all the love and support you have provided for me and the rest of the CMNH children.


Eileen at Disney's Contemporary Resort where "Celebration" was held.


Country singer Mark Wills starts off the festivities.


Eileen with CMN Associate Director Louise Skosey (right) and guest.


Eileen with CMN Champion Haven.


Eileen preparing for her performance.


Eileen with CMN President Mr & Mrs John Lauck.


Eileen with CMN founder John Schneider.


Eileen with NBC Nightly News & Today Show host Meredith Vieira.


Eileen with David Archuleta.


Eileen with Mr & Mrs Gary Sheets (founding CEO of CMN).


Eileen with Olympic Gold Medalist Mary-Lou Retton. (Miss USA in the back ground)


Eileen set to perform "Think of Me" from Phantom of The Opera.


Eileen performing "Think of Me"


Eileen & Meredith Vieira chat before a group picture.


Eileen with two CMN Champions. "Charlie's Angels"


Eileen & country superstar Mark Wills, "Country vs Classical".


They worked it out!

Today was an awesome day. I got to work with the folks from World Vision and Project Impact in support of inter city schools, by providing back to school supplies for more than 3,500 children.

The event was supported by World Vision, several local school districts, and Assemblyman Isadore Hall. There were several legislative figures in attendance along with city leaders. I got to speak and perform at the leadership breakfast prior to the event.

After the breakfast, we headed out to the stadium where there were over 5,000 parents and kids waiting to receive their backpacks. I addressed and performed for the crowd along with several dignitaries in attendance.

It was a great day and I was so happy to see so many kids get a chance to start school on the right track! God bless Mr & Mrs Harris of Project Impact for their dedication to the children of our community.

 

Yesterday was a great day. My foundation held a fundraiser benefiting CHLA's "Holidays From The Heart" program. The event raised enough money to help support additional families this year. That's fantastic! We could not have done it without the owners of Pieloon's Saul & Lily Haro. They are amazing people with huge hearts!

We had lots of friends, family and folks from the community come out and support the event. It was nice to see so many good people come out for a great cause. I wanted to sing for everyone, but I was getting over a cold and unfortunately my voice was not ready.

My children's advisory board joined me in welcoming the guests, seating them, and getting their drinks. We helped out for 6 hours. We were tired, but it was lots of fun! I'm so happy that we will be able to help more families this year. I was so touched by this program last year, that I wanted to do more this year.

I can't thank everyone who helped out enough. Without your support, without the generosity of Mr & Mrs Haro, this would not have been possible. God bless all of you!!

 
Pictured: Mr Joe Commodore, his son John Commodore, and Eileen along with BHF advisory
board members (left) Kelly, Megan, and Natalie.


Pictured: Mrs Gabriel, her daughter Christina, Eileen and BHF advisory board members
(left) Megan, Kelly, and Natalie.

Last night was amazing! I got to perform at Dodger Stadium for the Dodgers - Tigers game. I performed the National Anthem to start the game and then performed God Bless America in the 7th inning. What made the night even more special is that it was my parents 25th wedding anniversary. Happy 25th mom and dad!!!!  

I got to meet legendary Dodger organists Nancy Bea. She has been playing Dodger home games since 1988. Wow, that's dedication!! Not only is she a great organist, she's also a beautiful lady inside and out. I was a little nervous when I first arrived, but once I practiced with Nancy, I was really excited and couldn't wait to perform. It was a real honor to perform with her. Hugs and kisses Nancy!!

I also got to meet Dodger icon Vince Scully. He was very nice and took the time to say hello and take a picture with me. He is an amazing man who has done so much for baseball. God bless him.

Lastly, thank you to all my friends and family that came out to support me. We had a reserved section for the Beating Hearts Foundation and they even posted the foundation's name up on the big screen. Amazing!

I had an unforgettable night performing, seeing my first professional baseball game, having a Dodger Dog, and meeting some very special people. Oh yes, I almost forgot to mention, the Dodgers won 6-1!!!

I can't wait until I get to see my next game and hear those famous words, "play ball"!!




Pictured: Nancy Bea and Eileen


Pictured: Eileen with Vince Scully


Pictured: Eileen performing the National Anthem


Pictured: Eileen performing God Bless America




"It was an amazing night!!"

Last night I got to attend and perform at the fifth annual SANG "V" Extravaganza benefitting Children's Hospital Los Angeles. The event was held at the Avalon in Hollywood. In attendance were some of the biggest names in publishing, finance, media, and entertainment. Together, they raised over $60,000 for CHLA. That's awesome!

SANG President Larry Benet did an amazing job of bringing so many people together for this event. Some of the celebrities included Elliott Yamin (American Idol), Nickelodeon and recording star Cymphonique Miller, Master "P", Dave Austin, Barbara Lazaroff, Nestor Serrano, Erik Palladino, and many others.

I performed "Unforgettable" with my good friend Michael Zobel. We were accompanied by the hit band "Traffic Jamm" (Oprah's favorite party band). They were fantastic!

Attached are some great pictures from the event. I want to thank everyone at CMN (Joanne Reyes) and at "In 2 It Media" (Amy Malin) for their invitation and beautiful venue. It was a great night, with great people, for a great cause!! God bless all of them.

Article quote:
Robert Weiner, the Associate Vice President of Major and Planned Gifts at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles welcomed the crowd and introduced 12-year-old heart patient Eileen Garrido, who spoke from her heart about the lifesaving treatment she received at CHLA. There wasn’t a dry eye in the room when Eileen performed a moving rendition of Nat King Cole’s “Unforgettable” with Michael Zobel. “American Idol” finalist Elliott Yamin and Dave Austin, writer of the “Songwriting Handbook for Dummies”, praised the vocal abilities of Eileen and Michael and encouraged them to follow their dreams of a career in music.

Pictured: Dave Austin (Author), Elliott Yamin (American Idol), Micheal Zobel and Eileen.


Pictured: Robert Weiner (CHLA), Michael Zobel, and Eileen


Pictured: Eileen addresses the crowd prior to her performance


Pictured: Eileen and Michael performing "Unforgettable" with Traffic Jam


Pictured: Media mogul Master "P" addresses the crowd (very inspiring)


Pictured: Nickelodeon star Cymphonique Miller performs (awesome!)
 

Last night was an amazing night! I was invited to attend the Dream For Kids Gala benefiting CHLA. This event was absolutely beautiful. I got to serve as a patient host on the red carpet greeting the invited guests and celebrities. They were so nice and looked great. I got to meet Mary Hart, Jaime Lee Curtis, Billy Crystal, Melanie Griffith, and several others. They were all wonderful!

My patient partner on the red carpet was Johnny Hoffman. He's the little boy who made the Darth Vador commercial for the Super Bowl. We also got to meet Eric Stonestreet who did some magic tricks for us. He was really funny. The event raised raised $7 million for CHLA. Amazing!

Dinner was prepared by Chefs Wolfgang Puck and Nobu Matsuhida. It was delicious! The hospital the recognized some amazing supporters of the hospital. Mary Hart, Chris Albrecht, Mr & Mrs Saban, and Mrs Marion Anderson who donated 50 million dollars. Incredible!! 

The evening included performances from three time Grammy award-winning pianist & singer Diana Krall and the grand finale by Grammy winner Patti Austin. They were great. It was a beautiful night and I want to thank all the CHLA staff for allowing me to be a part of such a beautiful night. I will never forget it.




















     

Yesterday was an amazing day! CHLA celebrated their inauguration of the new hospital wing. The festivities started with a 5k walk from Griffith Park down to the hospital. Before the walk, I got to meet staff from several specialized departments. Go ladies from the Heart Institute!! It was then my honor to sing the National Anthem to start the walk. I then walked with my Beating Hearts Team. Together we raised $10,630 for the event.  

At the end of the walk, we were greeted by hundreds of folks who guided us to the street party on Sunset Blvd . It was awesome! They had a beautiful stage, tables, and lot's of food. The hostesses for the event were Heidi Klum, Melanie Griffith, and Jaime Lee Curtis. They were very sweet! In the evening we were treated to a performance by American Idol star, Crystal Bowersox. She was great!

Finally, it was time to "Turn On The Lights" of the new wing. It was beautifully done with a laser light show and music. It was a very special day for me, my family, and friends. God bless everyone who came out to support the hospital and make this an amazing day!! 










  

Today was a special day for me and my credit union friends. We celebrated Miracle Day at the hospital. There were representatives from over 20 credit unions. Combined, California credit unions raised over $330,000 for CHLA and CMN in 2010. That's amazing! 

After I welcomed the guests and performed for them, my foundation received an award for it's contributions in 2010. It made me very proud to a part of so many special people. I have been a credit union member since the day I was born. I'm a true believer in their philosophy of "people helping people"! 

God bless them all for their work and dedication toward healing the children of CHLA.   

Today was a fun day filled with lot's of exercise for a great cause. I was invited to sing the National Anthem at the annual Orange County Ronald McDonald 5k walk benefiting the OC's Ronald McDonald House. It was held at the Honda Center in Anaheim.

There were lots of people there to support this great cause. Ms Deborah Levy was very nice and her team did an amazing job setting up the event. There were representatives from the Anaheim Ducks, Radio Disney, 104.3 My FM, and many more. 

After I sang the National Anthem, I walked the 5k to show my support for this wonderful organization. After the walk, I was starving. So we headed to where else for breakfast, Mc Donalds!!!! The hot cakes hit the spot! I want to thank Irma Blanco of 104.3 My FM for recommending me to Ms Levy. God bless them all for their commitment to the children of Orange County.







Here I am with Executive Director, Ronald Mc Donald House, Deborah Levy.