In The Zone Partners
With Hayden's Hope

Dari Nowkhah Many of you may recognize, or even personally know Dari Nowkhah (pictured, left). The Tulsa native grew up playing UYB Baseball for Andersen Elementary, and graduated from Union High School in 1994. He was also a local sportscaster from 2002-04, before moving on to ESPN. Presently, he's the lead anchor for ESPNU.

However, you may not be aware of Dari's story. Until recently, neither was I.

We used to work together when I was the Sports Information Director at Oral Roberts University and Dari was covering the Golden Eagles for KOTV Channel 6. But we both changed jobs and over the last eight years we've lost touch with one another.

That all changed when I read about the heartbreaking experience Dari and his family endured last September. You see, Dari's wife Jenn gave birth to the couple's third child -- a healthy baby boy named Hayden Michael Nowkhah (pictured, right) -- on August 12, 2011. Six days later, Hayden was back in the hospital with a 102-degree fever caused by a virus. That virus attacked Hayden's heart and he was put on a transplant list. Sadly, Hayden Nowkhah after suffering a stroke, Hayden passed away just 39 days after he was born.

Shortly thereafter, Dari and Jenn started "Hayden's Hope", a foundation working in conjunction with the Children's Organ Transplant Association (COTA) to raise awareness of pediatric organ donation and provide financial support for children in need.

As a friend of Dari's, and as parents of three children ourselves, this story really hit home. So, after a few weeks of praying about this and contemplating how we could help, I remembered hearing famed portrait photographer Sandy Puc recently speak about how she donates to another worthwhile charity, "Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep".

That gave me the idea of creating this partnership, and I recently called Dari to see what he thought about it. He was thrilled to know that  Dena will be giving back 10% of net proceeds to "Hayden's Hope" during the months of April & May . We'll also be passing out literature and accepting donations to "Hayden's Hope" at our photo shoots.

So, whether we're taking your team photos, action photos, or even your newborn's photos, know that your purchases and/or donations over the next two months are helping a great cause.

We encourage you to visit the Hayden's Hope and COTA websites today, to learn more about Hayden, and how you can help future families in need.

Sincerely,

Cory Rogers

*Click here to watch KOTV's report on Hayden's Hope.