About Heart Buddies
Heart Buddies was created to help children facing heart surgery feel less frightened and more supported.
Born from lived family experience, our aim is simple: to bring comfort, courage, and child friendly understanding to some of the bravest little hearts.
Why Heart Buddies exists
For children with congenital heart disease, surgery can feel big, confusing, and scary. Medical teams do incredible work caring for the body, but children also need emotional support that speaks their language.
Heart Buddies uses gentle therapeutic play to help children understand what is happening, ask questions, and feel braver before hospital treatment.
At the centre of that support is the Heart Buddy Bear.
Comfort
We create soft, reassuring support for children during hospital stays and surgery preparation.
Something familiar to hold when everything feels unfamiliar.
Courage
We help children face treatment with more confidence by making the unknown easier to understand.
Small moments of bravery can make a big difference.
Connection
We support families, hospitals, and children with kindness, empathy, and lived experience.
No child should feel alone on their heart journey.
How we help
Heart Buddy Bear is designed to help children prepare for heart surgery through calm, supportive play.
Each bear has a soft opening and removable heart, giving children a simple way to explore where their heart is and what doctors are helping to fix.
The bear can be used at home, in hospital, and during conversations with parents, carers, play specialists, and medical teams.
Our hope is that every child who receives a bear feels seen, comforted, and reminded that they are brave.
Because sometimes understanding begins with a hug.
Created from love, experience, and a wish to help other families.
The story behind Heart Buddies
Heart Buddies began after Phoebe’s family experienced first hand how overwhelming heart surgery can be for a child and for everyone who loves them.
They saw the courage shown by children in hospital, but also the fear, uncertainty, and confusion that can come with treatment.
That experience inspired a simple idea: a comforting bear that could help children understand their heart, prepare for surgery, and feel less alone.
Today, Heart Buddies is growing from that idea into a charitable initiative with a clear purpose: to support children with congenital heart disease through comfort, play, and emotional care.
Every little heart deserves comfort, care and courage.