Heartworks Invites All to Valentine Fundraiser in Liberty Corner

This is one Valentine's Day event where you can come with or without a date, and still spread lots of love and kindness.

Heartworks Foundation, based in Bernardsville and Basking Ridge invites area residents to the non-profit organization's second annual Valentine’s Day Celebration and Fundraiser at 7 p.m. this Saturday at the Liberty Corner Firehouse on Church Street in Bernards Township.

“We are excited to bring our friends and neighbors together for a special night of fun, gratitude and giving!” said Event Chair Katie Borghese of Far Hills. "This is a great opportunity to celebrate Valentine’s Day in a meaningful way while learning more about the Heartworks’ philosophies and how to get involved.

Borghese said the event helps Heartworks continue the group's work of giving directly to people in the community.

"Everyone can remember a time in their life when they felt hopeless. Heartworks reaches out to individuals and families experiencing that sense of isolation due to a personal tragedy or loss,” explained Heartworks' founder and executive director, Megan McDowell of Bernardsville. “By being conscious of our own blessings, we provide women with an opportunity to enrich their own lives and the lives of others by giving to families in crisis.”

Individual tickets are offered for $75 and sponsorships are available by contacting hollyfay@heartworksgroup.org or calling 908-766-4400. Dress is festive casual and the event is being catered by the Bernards Inn in Bernardsville.

Donations of silent auction items such as a week at a vacation home, jewelry, or tickets to a sporting event also are needed.

This year’s event also will feature a balloon pop as well as Casa Di Francesca diffusers and Valentine lollipop bouquets for sale with all proceeds going directly to families whose lives have been affected by illness, accidents and Hurricane Sandy. 

Heartworks is a non-profit acts of kindness group created in response to the tremendous kindness that sustained so many families, including many in Basking Ridge and the Somerset Hills area, during the months and years following September 11, 2001.

The 501c3 was started in memory of McDowell’s brother-in-law and Basking Ridge resident John W. Farrell, who was killed while working at Sandler O’Neill in the World Trade Center. Further information on Heartworks and making a donation is available on the group's website.

The group has an office at 19 Route 202 in Basking Ridge, at the border with Bernardsville. The lawn outside the building was the site of a vigil held by Heartworks following the school shootings in December in Newtown, Ct.