Third Annual Ava’s Little Heroes benefit raises more than $35,000

Animal Adventure Park is excited to announce that the third annual Ava’s Little Heroes benefit was wildly successful! The event, held on Sunday, Aug. 19, raised more than $35,000, which will assist four local families who have a child fighting serious medical battles, and other candidates and needs that arise throughout the year.

Ava’s Little Heroes, an annual event at Animal Adventure Park, was inspired by the support offered to park owners Jordan and Colleen Patch in 2016, when their young daughter Ava was plagued by complications from brain surgery and an ongoing battle with a rare form of Epilepsy called Aicardi Syndrome. 

She endured dozens of daily seizures that hindered her development until a successful, life-changing surgery in October 2017. Ava has been seizure-free ever since, and making incredible progress. 

The support from around the community throughout Ava’s tumultuous health journey flooded the hearts of the Patches. They’ve decided to pay it forward by holding an annual event in their daughter’s name to raise awareness and funds for selected local children battling serious medical issues.

“My wife Colleen and I are overjoyed by the outcome of the third annual Ava’s Little Heroes benefit, said Jordan Patch, owner of Animal Adventure Park, adding, “We are so grateful for the generosity of our supporters, near and far, and we’re so pleased that four local families will feel the same love and support from the greater community that we were shown when our family needed it most.”

Animal Adventure Park donated 50 percent of that day’s admissions to the cause. Additionally, hundreds of people took to the GoFundMe page (www.gofundme.com/avaslittleheroes2018) to donate to the event. Animal Adventure Park would like to thank the many generous local businesses that donated their time, goods and services to make this fundraising effort a success including UHS, who was a major sponsor of Ava’s Little Heroes 2018.