Helpful Hearts was born out of a then 7 year-old’s desire to help people.  Over the last few years, Brittany
Peterson, 17, has raised thousands of dollars and helped many people in different walks of life.
In 1995, Brittany was born prematurely due to a rare form of food poisoning called Listeria, which has recently made its way into the news headlines.  This poison caused Cerebral Palsy which  confines Brittany’s body to a wheelchair, but has never confined her mind.  She’s always had a compassionate heart and a desire to help those in need, in addition to an uncanny way of motivating people to “do the right thing”. 
Madeleine, although usually introduced as Brittany’s sister, was born in 1997, and is a philanthropist in her own right. 
Maddie’s cute drawings have been a big selling point and her fearlessness when going door-to-door always has us awestruck…
Eliza, born in 2003, is the youngest sister but is also an important part of Helpful Hearts.  She not only provides the “cute factor” when selling door-to-door, but her artistic nature has been brought to life on paper.  She loves to draw! Helpful Hearts has done many projects and we’re always thinking about what’s next!  The girls have done everything from raising money to buy sleeping bags for the homeless, to starting libraries of children’s books for different women’s shelters.  The girls have donated close to 500 new and used books so far!  In addition, they’ve sent nearly 50 boxes filled with goodies and necessities to soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.  They were even able to contribute to the “Wounded Warrior” organization by sending a box full of supplies to injured soldiers at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland.  Since Brittany is an avid reader, we always have projects that include books in some way.
Helpful Hearts is very excited about their latest project which involves partnering with a  local disabilities advocacy group called Central Oregon Disability Support Network (http://www.codsn.org/). CODSN’s mission is to promote a positive understanding of disability and community inclusion, as well as be a source of support, information, and education for families and professionals. 
Helpful Hearts will be working specifically with a component of CODSN called Adler’s Voice.  Adler’s Voice’s mission is to help other families of a child with ANY disability that has significant speech challenges obtain the resources, medical and therapeutic treatments, assistive technology, educational resources, etc. their child needs to acquire expressive communication.