GIFT OF LIFE INTERNATIONAL TABS LaFONTAINE
FOR HUMANITARIAN AWARD
Honor recognizes compassion in life and deeds
NEW YORK, NY, April 5, 2003 - Tonight, at the
grand ballroom in the Marriott Marquis Hotel in
New York City, Pat LaFontaine was named
recipient of the Gift of Life International
Humanitarian Award for 2003. For the last 20
years, the award has been given to individuals
who demonstrate compassion in their life and in
their deeds. Previous winners have included
Nancy Reagan, Jerry Lewis, Sally Struthers and
Alan King.
LaFontaine has been a longtime supporter of Gift
of Life, and recently helped organize a benefit
hockey game on Long Island, with NHL alumni, in
support of the foundation. He said, "The work
these doctors do is incredible. I'm only too
happy to help."
Gift of Life International works to promote the
cure and treatment of children from low income
families in third world countries who suffer
from heart disease. They are the only nonprofit
organization in the world specializing in
pediatric cardiothoracic surgery.
Gift of Life, Inc. is a crusade of the heart,
touching children in peril. An idea born in 1975
to a group from Rotary International in
Manhasset, Long Island, it is today a global
effort. The group reaches out to many children,
who would otherwise die, and heal their failing
hearts with the miracle of cardiac surgery. This
outreach spans the world, nurtured by compassion
for young victims we alone can cure. Each child
whose future is restored is a tribute to
humanity and love, helping build bridges of
friendship and peace among people everywhere.
More than 2,500 children have been flown to the
U.S. from dozens of nations for sophisticated
open-heart surgery. Medical centers throughout
the U.S., and in Israel and Malaysia, are
participating Gift of Life hospitals. Dedicated
surgeons and nurses donate their skills to the
cause.
These health care professionals perform their
services at no charge to the family of the sick
children. It is estimated that each procedure
costs up to $10,000 to administer. Each Rotary
volunteer opens up his or her heart and home to
the child and family in need of services. The
family lives with the local family for anywhere
from three weeks to as long as nine months,
while the child is undergoing medical
procedures.
Gift of Life honoree, Danny Thomas, echoed a
thought that inspires the group's purpose: "That
a child should die before his time is, to me,
simply unacceptable."
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