Heart Transplant Recipient Mobilizes Jackson Art Foundation To Fund Transplant Care At University Of Pennsylvania

heart transplant Recipient Launches Jackson Art Foundation To Support Pre- And Post-Transplant Patients

USA: A heart transplant recipient has turned his survival into a campaign for others, founding the Jackson Art Foundation to raise money and provide practical support for pre-transplant and post-transplant patients at the University of Pennsylvania. John Paul Cavalieri, who received a heart transplant in 2022, said the foundation was created in honor of his donor, a 22-year-old known as Jackson.

Cavalieri and foundation volunteers have focused on bedside assistance and identifying gaps in care for transplant patients, from transportation and lodging to postoperative needs. The organization grew from local hospital visits into community fundraisers and patient services across the tri-state area, aiming to smooth the path to and through transplantation for others.

The foundation’s fundraising calendar includes designer-bag bingo nights and its first annual golf outing at Running Deer in Pittsgrove on June 25, an event expected to host dozens of golfers along with a luncheon and auctions. Proceeds will support direct services for transplant candidates and recipients at UPenn and nearby hospitals, expanding a grassroots operation into sustained patient aid.

Organ donation remains central to the story: one donor can save multiple lives, and tissue donors can help many more. The Jackson Art Foundation uses that reality as its mission engine, channeling gratitude for a lifesaving heart transplant into practical help for others navigating transplantation.

Video originally published on 2026-05-04 14:17:08