The Gift of Life Foundation

Members welcomed PDG Joe Laureni to their luncheon meeting at The Courtyard by Marriott on Friday, September 27. Gift of Life was the topic of the day as Joe filled us in on the origins of the program and the impact it has had on so many.

 

Though not an official program of RI, Gift of Life represents the spirit of Rotary by providing life saving heart surgery to children with congenital heart defects. First started in 1974 on Long Island, the idea was introduced to District 7490 by DGN Art Scialla in 1985. Our Park Ridge club under the leadership of Club President Don Terrace was the first in the District to sponsor a Gift of Life child brought here from the Dominican Republic. Since then, the District has sponsored nearly 900 children from all over the world and in 2011 we were pleased to be able to sponsor 5 year old Noreen from the Philippines.

Today there are about 50 Rotary Districts with Gift of Life programs. Together they have been responsible for over 15,000 life saving surgeries.

In more recent years it has been found that medical missions to developing countries can result in more surgeries being done less expensively over relatively short periods of time. Sponsoring a child for surgery in the U.S. costs $6,000.00 while surgeries can be completed in a child’s native country for half that amount. This Rotary year, missions have already been to Uganda, the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua with the District’s tenth mission slated to go to the Philippines in November.

Children who come to the United States with heart defects are usually referred by physicians or participating groups in their home country to Rotarians of Rotary District 7490 Gift of Life Foundation who forward their medical information to participating hospitals. Doctors and hospitals receive the nominal fee of $6,000 for the valuable services they render. After cases are approved for surgery by attending physicians, they are assigned to local Rotary Clubs, Interact Clubs or auxiliary organizations. They in turn provide any additional funds for medical care (prescriptions, etc.) and host the child with a parent while they are in this country. The monies needed to finance the program are raised by the Foundation, individual Rotary Clubs, or other individuals and organizations.

One does not have to be a member of a Rotary club to participate in Gift of Life. The District’s Gift of Life Committee is always looking for hosts and translators for the children and funds are always needed for medical services, equipment, educational services and transportation.