1. Year in review: the Hayden’s Hope journey
The hope he brings
On August 12, 2011, Hayden
Michael Nowkhah was born. He was 8
pounds 7 ounces, the picture of perfect
health and innocence. After six days,
Hayden was in the hospital with a 102-
degree fever. A virus attacked Hayden's
fragile heart, wrecking his health. Within
a matter of days, Hayden was near the
top of the heart transplant list. How
could this have happened to a little boy
who was the picture of perfect health?
Doctors didn't know.
Although the doctors were
unsure what caused this, one thing was
certain: Within 39 days, Hayden still had
not received the heart he so desperately
needed to have a chance at life. Within
39 days, Dari and Jenn Nowkhah
decided to let Hayden go, because in his
short life, he had already suffered
enough. Within 39 days, they lost their
baby boy. Thirty-nine days is all it
takes.
Because of their brave little
man's experience, and thousands of
infants who go through the same thing
every year, they decided to create
Hayden's Hope to raise awareness for
pediatric organ donation. In addition,
Hayden's Hope is working in
conjunction with the Children's Organ
Transplant Association, to raise money
to cover transplant related expenses in
honor of children awaiting life-saving
transplants.
Medical bills, travel costs to and
from transplant centers, lengthy stays
away from home and job loss affects

2. transplant families and crushes them
financially. COTA families receive 100
percent of the money raised through
Hayden's Hope, easing this financial
burden and allowing them to focus on
what is most important: the life of their
child.
Though Hayden is no longer with
his family, his story lives on. The story
of the little boy who died but whose
heart beats out of hope and love for
children everywhere. It is the
Nowkhah’s hope that Hayden's story
inspires others to help children achieve
the successful transplants they deserve,
so they can live the lives they were
meant to live.
Non-profit raises $120,000 for organ
transplant families
The non-profit organization
Hayden's Hope has raised $120,000
since Dari Nowkhah, sports broadcaster
for the SEC Network, and his wife, Jenn,
founded the organization in 2011. They
started the organization after losing their
infant son at 39 days old as he awaited a
heart transplant. Hayden’s Hope
financially assists families with children
awaiting a life-saving organ transplant
by helping cover medical and non-
medical-related costs.
"The overwhelming costs
associated with the transplant process,
often including relocation and the
inability of family members to work, can
be crippling," Nowkhah said. "We help
these families focus not on finances, but
on what is most important, the child who
needs them."
At age three, Charlie McMicken
needed a heart transplant. The following
year, he received his new heart and a
chance at life. But during that year’s
time, Charlie's father John McMicken
was unable to work, placing the family
at a financial disadvantage. Hayden’s

3. Hope made a financial donation to the
McMicken family, and the extra money
allowed them to focus on the life of their
child.
"In addition to the very generous
donation, we were reminded that we
were not alone. To this day, Hayden's
Hope still follows Charlie on his lifelong
journey," said Charlie’s mother Sarah
McMicken.
Hundreds of miracle makers have
shown their generosity by financially
assisting these families through
Hayden’s Hope as well as by giving the
gift of life through donating blood.
Former Heisman Trophy winning
quarterback Tim Tebow recently
endorsed the organization’s mission and
its love for children.
"I urge people to support
Hayden's Hope," said Tebow in a
promotional video. "It is an organization
that makes a difference in a lot of kids’
lives."
Currently, the Public Relations
Student Society of America at the
University of Oklahoma is working with
Hayden’s Hope in order to increase
awareness and support for the non-profit
organization.
Hayden’s Hope launches new website
In conjunction with the Public
Relations Student Society of America
chapter at the University of Oklahoma,
Hayden’s Hope has launched a new
website.
Matt Woods, media
representative for Hayden’s Hope, was
in charge of creating the new website.
Woods wanted a design that was simple
and easy to navigate in addition to
increasing the professional feel of
Hayden’s Hope as an organization.
“The new website is
outstanding,” Woods said. “Our

4. motivation for creating the new website
was to make it more aesthetically
pleasing and professional to get more
donations.”
Since the launch of the website,
Woods said web traffic for
http://haydenshope.org has increased.
According to Kylie Kallsen, an OU
junior and PRSSA member, the main
reason for the increased web traffic is
attributed to an increase in social media
activity.
In March, the Hayden’s Hope
Facebook page gained 72 new fans,
equivalent to a 117 percent increase.
Hayden’s Hope also saw a 13 percent
increase in page impressions, now
standing at 31,200, and a 53 percent
increase in incoming messages, now
standing at 1,300.
“Hayden’s Hope has experienced
tremendous growth on social media
since we started working with them at
the beginning of the 2014-2015 school
year,” Kallsen said. “In fact, we are even
in the beginning stages of maintaining a
Pinterest account for Hayden’s Hope.”
Since the website was created,
Woods has added a blog section to the
website with the goal of keeping people
who are interested in Hayden’s Hope up-
to-date on the latest information.
The Ocampo family story
On Dec. 24, 2012, Cisco and
Cora Ocampo received the greatest
Christmas present they could ask for: the
gift of life for their child.
Their second son, Jordan
Ocampo, was diagnosed with kidney

5. failure at his 12-month-old checkup in
July of 2010. For two years, Jordan
endured numerous check ups and
constant vomiting, all while being on at
home dialysis. The bills associated with
taking care of Jordan quickly stacked up,
and the Ocampo’s found themselves in a
serious financial situation.
After struggling financially, they
decided to contact the Children’s Organ
Transplant Association for aid and
received a gift from Hayden’s Hope.
Not long after Jordan’s
transplant, the Ocampo’s discovered that
Jordan’s older brother Luke, born in
2007, would also need a kidney
transplant soon. Luke was born with
congenital hypoplasia, or smaller than
normal kidneys, and he was expected to
have delayed kidney failure.
Thankfully, on July 4, 2014,
Luke received his kidney transplant, and
the family received another surprise gift
from Hayden’s Hope.
Though the organ transplant
process is a worrisome and painful
experience, it’s one that is made easier
through the generosity of others.
“Please carefully consider
supporting the legacy of giving hope to
kids that have transplant and related
needs,” Cisco said. “We love Hayden’s
Hope so much.”
The donations received from
Hayden’s Hope have helped the family
continue a healthy life together, as it has
and will with numerous others.
Hayden’s Hope partnerships
In the National Association of
Ticket Brokers give back competition,
formally known as NATB Gives Back,
Hayden’s Hope was selected as a charity
for the 2014 NFL season.
The NATB challenged associate
members to donate one dollar for every

6. point scored in the NFL season. Brokers
managed to contribute $20,000 for
Hayden’s Hope.
“The fact that we managed to get
a sponsorship from the NATB was
incredible,” said Hayden’s Hope media
representative Matt Woods. “The fact
that $20,000 was raised for Hayden’s
Hope was unbelievable.”
According to Woods, Hayden’s
Hope has been pushing for more
partnerships such as the one with the
NATB to raise money for their
organization. For National Blood Donor
Month in January, Hayden’s Hope
partnered with the Darwin Eaton Blood
Donation Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to
make a promotional video. In the video,
Dari Nowkhah, sports broadcaster for
the SEC network and Darwin Eaton’s
grandson, discussed the importance of
donating blood.
“In addition to monetary
donations, Hayden’s Hope also
encourages blood donation and aims to
raise awareness of a very difficult
subject, the need for pediatric organ
donation,” Nowkhah said. “These are all
elements that we deem are very
important, and thus, we are proud to
have founded Hayden’s Hope.”
In the coming year, Woods said
the organization should be able to secure
valuable partnerships that will benefit
many families deeply struggling with the
organ donation process for their
children.