Josephine's Village 5K: Celebrating Loved Ones & Mending Broken Hearts

Josephine's Village was started when a very special little heart warrior was fighting for her life in UVA Medical Center's Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU).  Jo touched many people's hearts and a village was formed to support her as she underwent two open heart surgeries at nine weeks old and gave all she had to fight for her life.  Sadly, Josephine passed away on Christmas Day 2017 at 20-weeks old.  Her parents kept Josephine's Village alive to bring awareness to Congenital Heart Defects (CHDs), and eventually formed Josephine's Village 501(c)(3) non-profit as well as Josephine's Village 5K charity race to honor their daughter by supporting other families faced with CHDs.

Josephine's Village 5K aims to: 

* Honor Josephine & all heart warriors who have passed or are fighting to live with Congenital Heart Defects

* Educate the public on CHDs, as 1 in 110 babies are born with some type of CHD and research is poorly funded

* Support babies and children with CHDs by raising funds for them and their families

* Provide a race to the community that is Fun, Family Friendly, Safe and Provides Remembrance of Loved Ones