Event History
On April 22, 2010 the NMF celebrated its ten year anniversary of the HeARTworks Gala, the Foundation’s largest annual fundraising event held each year in New York City. More than 400 guests were on hand for the celebration and over $750,000 was raised to support the NMF’s core programs of patient support, public awareness and medical education.

Created by Karen Murray, NMF Board Member and President of VF Sportswear, the event began in 1998 as a small cocktail reception titled “The Marfan Artists Project.” The evening featured art exhibits and performances, as well as an art auction. In 2000, the event was slightly reformatted and HeARTworks was born. In 2005, the event moved from its original location at Liz Claiborne’s New York showroom to Gotham Hall, and then made its way to Cipriani 42nd Street in 2006, where it is still held today.

Over the past ten years, HeARTworks has grown exponentially, attracting individuals from the fashion, media and financial industries, along with leading clinicians and researchers from around the country and members of the Marfan syndrome and related disorders community.