Russian Gift of Life Journal

Transcription

RGOL Journal 09 q6
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Russian Gift of Life Journal
2009
2 0 T H A N N I V E R S A RY
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The Journal is Dedicated to
Our Volunteers
who have helped save the lives of so many children over the
past twenty years. Russian Gift of Life congratulates each and
every one of you for your love, compassion, dedication, and
generosity. On behalf of the children who are alive today
because of your aid and comfort – thank you!
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Russian Gift of Life Journal 2009
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message from the Executive Director
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fifty ways you can help
special reports
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Report from the Field: Kemerovo, Russia
It is every child's right to be born into a world where he or she can
thrive, grow to be strong, and make their parents proud. It is not,
however, every child's destiny. An international medical team travels to
Siberia to save children.
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Fourth Medical Mission to Tomsk
Russian Gift of Life helps sponsor Heart to Heart’s fourth medical
mission to Tomsk on April 14-26, 2009.
features
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Twenty Years Later – It’s Still a Miracle!
Elena Volkov was only three months old when her mother Irina
got the devastating news that her daughter had a heart defect.
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A Brief History of the Gift of Life
"I was so desperate, I was losing hope. I made a promise to God. You get me
out of this situation. I will try to do good the rest of my life."
supporters
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In Memoriam - Mikhail Yakuba
Russian Gift of Life’s representative in Moscow personally helped
save the lives of hundreds of children. He died in Moscow on
September 18, 2009 from pancreatic cancer.
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Save-A-Child — Since 1992
Some of the hundreds of children whose lives have been saved through the
Save-A-Child program and the generous people and organizations who
made it possible.
Cover photo by Max Schidlovsky
© 2009 Russian Gift of Life, Inc.
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About the Russian Gift of Life
Our mission is
saving children’s lives
through heart surgery
Donations are tax-deductible and help
save the lives of underprivileged children
suffering from treatable heart defects.
Russian Gift of Life funds pediatric heart surgery in the
United States and Russia, supports medical missions to
Russia, and sponsors a unique matching gift program that
is helping to create a tradition of giving in Russia.
Russian Gift of Life began in Sea Cliff, New York in partnership with the Rotary Gift of Life program when a generous
grant from United Parcel Service brought 40 Russian children to America for open-heart surgery. Individual donations
followed and the program grew. Americans of Russian
descent responded with love, understanding, and kindness by
volunteering their time to support the children while in
America.
Founded in 1989
Since its founding, the Russian Gift of Life has grown from a
handful of dedicated volunteers to an internationally recognized children's charity with programs in several Russian
cities. Thanks to the compassion of its donors and volunteers, Russian Gift of Life has raised over $1,500,000 to save
children’s lives. More than 1,000 have been saved at participating hospitals in the United States and Russia.
Russian Gift of Life dedicates its lifesaving mission to the memory of
Andre Guevorguian, who perished on
Pan Am Flight 103, and to the memory of his mother, Tatiana. Their generous bequest to the Russian Gift of
Life endowment is helping to save
many precious lives.
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Russian Gift of Life extends profound gratitude to the hospitals, doctors, and medical staffs, and to our dedicated volunteers, for their compassionate service and loving care which
have touched and healed many hearts.
Save-A-Child
By special arrangement with
hospitals in the United States,
Russian Gift of Life spends
between $5,000 and $10,000
on each child brought here for
heart surgery – a fraction of the
actual cost, since surgeons, cardiologists, and other medical
personnel donate their services.
By special arrangement with the world-renowned Bakulev
Center for Cardiovascular Surgery in Moscow, Russian Gift
of Life pays only $2,500 for a child in need of heart surgery
in Russia. Together with the Russian Assistance Fund,
Russian Gift of Life also helps save children suffering from
heart defects through full-page appeals in the Russian newspaper Kommersant. Readers in Russia match every $2,500
Russian Gift of Life contributes. All donations are sent
directly to the Tomsk Cardiac Center in Siberia for the child
in question. Without surgery, most of these children will die
before reaching adulthood. Do not let them wait in hope
and die in vain. Send your donation today; the children
urgently need it.
Every day at least twelve Russian
children die from treatable heart defects.
Every day we save a child.
Help us save all of them!
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saving children's lives through heart surgery . . .
To Our Friends, Volunteers, and Supporters:
Board of Directors
Nina Batalin
Alexander Hindenburg, MD FACP
Alexandra Kishkovsky
Russian Gift of Life has reached an important milestone – its twentieth anniversary!
Over these past twenty years, hundreds of children have been saved; thousands of
lives have been touched and changed forever. From the child with a heart defect, to
their loved ones, to volunteers, and medical professionals alike – no one who has
participated in the Gift of Life program has been left unmoved.
Valentina Kowalenko
Wladimir Kowalenko
Alexandra Potapov
Helen Todosow
Peter Tymus
Executive Director
Michael Yurieff
Directors Emeriti
Alexander Alexandrovich
Thomas McPartland
Renate Natalia Netch
Medical Advisors
Dr. George Falkowski
Michael Lopukhin, CSW, BCD
We all owe a debt of gratitude to the compassionate and devoted volunteers, medical
teams, and donors that make it all possible. From the surgeon who donates his
services, to the family and friends who collect contributions in memory of a loved
one, to the volunteer who gets up at six in the morning to take mother and child to
the hospital for surgery – thank you! Thank you for showing these children that
they’re not alone. Thank you for embracing our life-saving mission.
To those of you who may be new to our children’s charity – we need your help, too.
We invite you to become part of a global effort to save the lives of Russian children.
We need your help to save children who are needlessly dying from treatable heart
defects; children whose lives could have been saved. Your support – to the extent you
are willing and able – can mean the difference between life and death for an
underprivileged child.
Your support can make a difference in the lives of many. For several years, we have
been helping to sponsor medical missions to Russia. The most recent mission to
Kemerovo in Siberia, for example, has had a profound impact on the entire
Kemerovo Region. There has been a fundamental change in the public’s attitude
toward children with congenital heart disease. The diagnosis of a heart defect is no
longer perceived as a "death sentence" for a child and a family. Children with
congenital heart defects in the Kemerovo region can now be successfully treated
and operated on much closer to home. Your support helps make that happen.
While much has been accomplished, there is much more to be done. We still have to
work to reach that most important child – the next one. The next child who is
waiting for our help – before it’s too late. On behalf of that next child, I appeal to you
for your contribution. Please visit our website www.rgol.org and make a donation.
Sincerely,
Michael Yurieff
Executive Director
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Twenty Years Later – It’s Still A Miracle!
bigger second operation. The
doctors believe, however, that
Elena’s condition, if she were to
have a second surgery, will
cause her to die on the operating table.
What mother can come to
terms with the loss of her child?
"Who and where will this second,
big operation take place?" thought
Elena’s mother over and over. Years
go by and hope turns to despair. It is
now 1989 and Elena is five years old.
Time is mercilessly moving
mother and daughter closer to catastrophe. Yet, at this moment
of despair, a series of coincidences begin – coincidences that add
up to a miracle for one little girl. Elena’s mother goes to see if
she had switched off the television. At the moment she walks
into the living room, she sees an announcement on the news:
a group of American doctors are coming to Moscow to screen
children for heart defects for possible surgery in the United
States. Had Irina walked in five minutes later she would have
missed the news, and Elena might not be alive today.
Irina then immediately goes to visit her local cardiologist to see
if she can get her daughter on the American doctors’ list. She
arrives at the cardiologist’s office and is told that the doctor is
on vacation. Crestfallen, Irina turns to leave the office when the
cardiologist unexpectedly shows up. It turns out that she had
come down with a head cold and decided to delay the start of
her summer vacation for a few days - another coincidence.
E
lena Volkov was only three months old when her mother
Irina got the devastating news that her daughter had a heart
defect. Not just any heart defect, but Tetralogy of Fallot, a cluster of four heart defects, which according to the Mayo Clinic,
occurs in only five out of every 10,000 babies. The surgery to
repair this condition is almost always performed in the first few
months of life. Sometimes more than one operation is needed.
The first may be done to help increase blood flow to the lungs,
and a second, definitive surgery is done later. For Elena, the
clock was ticking fast.
Surgical techniques to repair Tetralogy of Fallot have been performed in the United States since 1944. But Elena and her
mother live in the Soviet Union, in Veliky Novgorod, a historic
northwestern city some three hours from Saint Petersburg. And
in 1984, there are almost no cardiac care centers that can save
Elena’s life. The closest is in Moscow, an overnight train ride
away. Together with her mother and grandfather, Elena makes
the long trip to Moscow. There, at the age of three months,
mother and grandfather convince the doctors to perform the
first operation that will help little Elena live long enough for a
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The American doctors see Elena and recommend her for
surgery in New York. Elena and her mother arrive at John F.
Kennedy International Airport on March 30, 1990 together
with a group of Russian children. They are among the first
group of children to come from the Soviet Union to America
for cardiac surgery on the Gift of Life program. Elena undergoes
open-heart surgery on April 19, 1990 at Saint Francis Hospital
in New York. The surgery is successful and her heart defects are
permanently repaired. Irina’s mother recalls the joyous moment
when they were discharged and the doctor said "everything is
fine with her heart." She could not believe that he was talking
about her daughter, that she could now grow up like any child
her age. It was truly a miracle.
Twenty years later, mother and daughter, now living in the
United States, still feel it’s a miracle. Elena has graduated with a
Bachelor’s degree from Hofstra University on Long Island with
a 4.0 average. Recently, she completed her Master’s Degree in
Psychology and Social Work at Hunter’s College in New York,
where she was fifth out of twenty-five finalists and 1,000 applicants for the degree program. Irina works for Saint Francis
Hospital, where she helps other mothers experience the same
miracle she did so many years ago.
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A Brief History of the
Gift of Life
The Gift of Life program began
as a project of the Manhasset
Rotary Club on Long Island,
New York in 1975 in response
to a plea from the Kampala
Rotary Club in Uganda. A five
year old Ugandan girl, Grace
Agwaru, needed life-saving open
heart surgery to close a hole
between the lower chambers of
her heart. This surgery was not
available in Uganda and without Grace Agwaru and Russian Gift of Life
Executive Director Michael Yurieff
it she would not live. The
Manhasset club organized and
sponsored Grace's treatment at St. Francis Hospital in Roslyn, New
York. That single act of kindness thirty four years ago has grown
into a worldwide movement that now embodies itself in fifty
programs throughout the world, including the Russian Gift of Life.
Together, these programs have treated children from 64 countries
and six continents.
No history of the Gift of Life would be complete without telling
the story of Kurt Weishaupt, who served as its Chairman and
inspired and supported the creation of the Russian Gift of Life.
Born on August 10, 1913, Kurt could see trouble ahead when the
Nazis came to power in his native Germany. After a vicious attack
by drunken members of the Hitler Youth, a paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party, Kurt knew it was time to flee. "I was so
desperate, I was losing hope. I made a promise to God," Kurt said.
"You get me out of this situation. I will try to do good the rest
of my life."
He and his wife Trude make their way to Marseille, France and
from there to the Pyrenees, where they cross over into Spain. Kurt
has converted all of his money into British pounds, but the British
declare pounds invalid in response to German counterfeiting. Kurt
and Trude board a train to Madrid with nothing but their train
tickets and fake Czech passports. Sixty years later, Kurt was still
gripped with fear in
recalling the fateful
moment when a conductor and a Gestapo officer
enter the car to check
documents. They look at
his passport and declare
"This is a fake! You are
under arrest!"
At that very moment, the
door to a first-class compartment near Kurt
opens. He doesn’t understand what is happening,
but he hears the man
from the compartment
say "Leave these people
alone, they are my
Kurt Weishaupt
friends." The conductor and
officer salute the man and leave. Kurt is stunned. The stranger then
invites Kurt and Trude to join him and tells them everything will
be all right. Kurt recalls how the mysterious stranger then takes
them to Madrid, pays for their hotel, buys them food, and arranges
their travel and visas to get them out of the country without any
problems. Kurt never learns the man’s name or identity nor why he
would help a stranger. Yet he always kept the promise he made to
God to do good the rest of his life.
In the years after his escape, Kurt became founder and president of
Kurt Weishaupt, Inc., one of the largest international stamp firms
in the world. It was his stamp business that brought him to Russia.
The more he made, the more he gave back.
Gift of Life was the perfect match for Kurt – he was now in the
position of the "mysterious stranger" able to help those less fortunate, those in crisis, with nowhere to turn. His affinity for Russia
led him to be one of Russian Gift of Life’s earliest and staunchest
supporters. And every day, until his death on July 1, 2004, Kurt
fulfilled the promise that he made that fateful day. Thousands of
children are alive because of it.
Russian Gift of Life Sponsors Ugandan Child For Surgery in Moscow
In one of the most significant humanitarian efforts ever undertaken by a Rotary-based organization, Gift of Life International sent
30 Ugandan children with congenital heart defects to 25 Gift of Life affiliated hospitals in 13 countries as part of the "Our Hearts
Are In Uganda" program. Russian Gift of Life participated in this worldwide effort by sponsoring Emmanuel Omuntu for
surgery at the world renowned Bakulev Center for Cardiovascular Surgery in Moscow with whom we have been working for
many years.
Emmanuel Omuntu is an eleven year old Ugandan boy, who has Tetralogy of Fallot, a complex congenital heart defect.
Emmanuel began the long journey to heal his heart – traveling from Uganda to Russia. He arrived in Moscow on May 12th
accompanied by his father, Andrew Etenu. They were greeted by Russian Gift of Life representative Mikhail Yakuba and
taken by ambulance to the Bakulev Center for Cardiovascular Surgery, one of the largest cardiac centers in the world. Emmanuel will need two operations spaced
about two years apart in order to correct his heart defect. The first operation was successfully completed on May 21st by Drs. Leo Bokeria and Sergei
Gorbachevsky. Father and son returned to Uganda in early June – on the road to a healthy life.
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REPORT FROM THE FIELD
Members of the 2009 ICHF medical team
Kemerovo, Russia
In the summer of 2008 and 2009, Russian Gift of Life
and Rotary District 7250 - Gift of Life, Inc. helped sponsor two medical missions to Kemerovo in Siberia. Our
colleagues at the International Children’s Heart
Foundation (ICHF) provide the following report:
Siberia is a very large area stretching from the Ural
Mountains on the west to the Pacific Ocean on the east.
The Kemerovo Region is an industrial region located in
the southern part of western Siberia, Russia. Over 3 million people live in the Kemerovo Region, mostly in large
cities. One of the two largest cities in the region,
Kemerovo City, is situated about 3,500 km from Moscow,
at the confluence of the Iskitim and Tom Rivers, and has
a population of more than 500,000 people. Kemerovo
City serves as the administrative center for the Kemerovo
Region. It was an important industrial city during Soviet
times, but since the disintegration of the Soviet Union,
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the city’s industries have experienced a severe decline, creating high levels of unemployment. The average worker
earns about $180 per month.
There are some 250-270 children with congenital heart
defects that need open heart surgery each year in
Kemerovo. Only about 60-80 children receive the surgery
they need. The Division of Pediatric and Congenital
Heart Disease was established in Kemerovo in 2005 and
the surgeons have been performing open heart surgery on
children over 12 months of age only. But a large number
of children with congenital heart disease need to be
operated on during the first year of life or they will die.
Children who need surgery urgently are being transported
to other centers far away. Due to transportation problems
and the critical condition of the children, many do
not survive.
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At the request of Leonid
Barbarash, M.D., Ph.D,
the Director of the
Kemerovo Center of
Cardiology, the ICHF
agreed to assist the local
physicians with establishing a congenital heart
surgery program for
neonates, infants, and
young children.
Additionally, the ICHF will help provide training and
learning experiences for the local physicians and surgeons.
ICHF made its first medical mission trip to the Kemerovo
Center of Cardiology July 19 – August 2, 2008. The
team, led by Cardiovascular Surgeon Dr. William Novick,
consisted of three surgeons, one cardiologist, one anesthesiologist, two OR nurses, one perfusionist, two intensivists, three PICU nurses, one respiratory therapist, three
interns and one child psychiatrist. The team came from
three different countries.
During the team’s first visit, 14 children received operations. Additionally, the volunteer doctors, nurses and
technicians worked along side the local staff teaching
them the latest techniques in taking care of children with
congenital heart defects.
The ICHF made its second medical mission trip to the
Kemerovo Center of Cardiology August 1-15, 2009. The
team, led by Cardiovascular Surgeons Dr. Ali Dodge
Khatami and Dr. Yakov Elgudin consisted of one OR
nurse, one perfusionist, two intensivists, five PICU nurses,
one cardiologist, one anesthesiologist, one respiratory therapist and one student/ICHF intern. The team came from
five different countries, all joining together for one cause –
to save the lives of children with congenital heart defects.
During the team’s second visit, 13 children received operations. The parents of the children that benefited from
these operations were extremely happy and appreciative of
the "gift of life" that their children had received.
ICHF Mission Statement
It is every child's right to be born into a world where he or she can thrive, grow to be strong, and make their
parents proud. It is not, however, every child's destiny.
One in every 100 children born in the developing world will never see his first birthday because of congenital heart
disease. His parents will mourn the loss. They are powerless to save him because the resources required to treat and
cure congenital heart disease are not easily accessible in developing countries and remote regions. Medical team
skills, money to transport and house patients and their families, medicines, equipment and facilities are scarce.
The mission of the International Children's Heart Foundation (ICHF) is to bring the skills, technology and
knowledge to cure and care for children with congenital heart disease to developing countries. ICHF does this
regardless of country of origin, race, religion or gender.
Our goal is to make the need for ICHF obsolete. We work toward this goal through our mission trips where we
operate and educate local health care professionals, and provide needed equipment and medications.
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Fourth Medical Mission to Tomsk
Russian Gift of Life began helping develop the Tomsk Cardiac Center in 2004 by
starting a matching gift program with the Russian newspaper Kommersant. A year
later, we expanded our work with Heart to Heart International Children’s Medical
Alliance to Tomsk. Their medical teams provide demonstration open heart surgery
as well as extensive multifaceted training in the diagnosis, interventional and surgical treatment, and post-operative care of children.
Russian Gift of Life helped sponsor Heart to Heart’s fourth medical mission to
Tomsk on April 14-26, 2009. Thirty-one patients were diagnosed and four
advanced surgeries were performed. One complex case, that of Ivan Stepanov, was
successfully completed on this mission and detailed in the following report from
our colleagues at Heart to Heart.
A REPORT FROM HEART TO HEART:
The Household and the Family
Ivan is nearly 10 years old and lives in Voronezh with his father, Yuri; his fourteen-yearold sister Polina; and Yuri’s father. Given Yuri’s day-to-day family responsibilities,
full-time work is not possible.
Ivan started first grade, but was asked to withdraw when a child in his school died of
heart disease. It is not unusual for Russian schools to refuse to admit a child with a health
problem. Since then, Ivan has been tutored at home. Yuri says that Ivan loves computers
and thinks he may want to work with computers in adulthood.
Child’s Development and Medical History
Yuri learned that his son had a very complex heart problem when Ivan was two days
old. Ivan had his first open-heart surgery, at the Bakulev Heart Center in Moscow, when
he was 8 months old, a palliative procedure known as a Blalock Taussig shunt.
Ivan underwent the second of three planned open-heart surgeries (a Glenn anastamosis)
at the Bakulev when he was 2 years old.
At the request of Russian Gift of Life, Heart to Heart cardiologist Dr. Frank Cetta examined Ivan in 2006. RGOL and Heart to Heart teamed up with the Mayo Clinic to bring
Ivan to Rochester, Minnesota for his third open-heart surgery – at the age of 7. Through
Mayo Clinic’s generous International Charity Program, cardiac specialists Frank Cetta
and Joe Dearani successfully performed a Fontan operation, the final-stage repair for
Ivan’s heart.
Ivan is developing normally. His heart performs its required functions, sending blood to
his lungs for oxygenation and circulating blood throughout his body. However, after
three open-heart surgeries to repair his congenitally-malformed heart, Ivan’s heart is truly
unique and does not look similar to a “normal” heart.
Current Condition
Russian Gift of Life has kindly and generously overseen Ivan’s on-going care for many
years. Over the last few years in particular, this support has enabled a consistent team of
specialists to successfully manage Ivan’s complex heart condition.
In anticipation of Heart to Heart’s arrival this year, RGOL arranged and underwrote the
travel (an arduous three-day train journey) and medical expenses for what everyone
expects will be Ivan’s final cardiac procedure – a minimally-invasive catheter-based procedure to close a fenestration (hole) purposefully created by the Mayo surgical team as a
temporary post-operative measure. While waiting for his cardiac catheterization, Ivan
enjoys the company of his three roommates, close to his own age. They laugh and play,
having a good time together. Ivan is a handsome, bright boy with very good manners,
comfortable speaking to adults. Dr. Frank Cetta successfully closed Ivan’s fenestration on
April 21, using an Amplatzer device (cost approximately $5,000US, also paid for by
RGOL). Ivan returned home one week later. We hope to stay in touch with Ivan as he
grows up!
Based on an interview conducted in Tomsk by Heart to Heart volunteer Lynn Graham, RN
through Russian interpreter Olga Chernyakova.
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In Memoriam
Mikhail Yakuba 1948 - 2009
Russian Gift of Life’s representative in Moscow
surgeon Dr. Thomas Pezzella. The officer nodded at Misha’s continued "tirade" and began to give directions to Misha. In another few
minutes, the incident was over. When Misha climbed back into the
car, I asked what had happened. Misha explained that the officer
was about to fine him for a minor traffic violation, but when Misha
explained that he had an American cardiac surgeon in his car on the
Gift of Life program to help save Russian children, the officer’s attitude changed and he began to facilitate our travel.
By training, Misha was a geophysicist, yet he left the scientific field
for humanitarian work. He began his long association with RGOL
in 1998 when he arrived in New York City to accompany an
orphan who was coming for surgery. His dedication and concern for
the well being of the child was evident from the start. Misha never
left the boy’s side, staying with him for countless hours as the boy
healed. Soon after his visit to New York, Misha became Russian Gift
of Life’s representative in Moscow and liaison to the renowned
Bakulev Center for Cardiovascular Surgery.
I
first met Misha three years ago when I arrived in Moscow with
fellow board members, Wladimir (Wally) Kowalenko and Natalia
Fekula. We were flying through Moscow on our way to the Tomsk
Cardiac Center in Siberia. Misha met us at the airport, as he would
every time I visited.
It was late April and the air in Moscow was crisp. Misha insisted on
showing us some of the sights and sounds of the city – as both
Wally and I had not seen the city for a few years. Showing visitors
the city was something Misha loved to do. Undaunted by the voluminous traffic and the ever present traffic control officers, Misha
calmly maneuvered to and fro. He approached each landmark in an
effort to show it off in the best possible way for his visitors.
Once, on the way to Nizhny Novgorod, Misha was stopped by a
traffic control officer. He bounded out of the car with great enthusiasm, holding a passport-like thing hanging around his neck. It was
a pass he had created, containing the RGOL logo. He also clutched
one of our Russian language brochures. I could see him gesticulating energetically to the officer. A few minutes passed – I could see
the officer looking over at me and my colleague, American cardiac
Misha personally helped save the lives of hundreds of children. He
was responsible for helping to arrange screening missions. Misha
would write to local ministries of health in Russia offering to have
doctors come to screen the children from that area. Misha, along
with Dr. Sergei Gorbachevsky and an echo technician, would travel
together – usually by overnight train to screen two hundred children
over a two day period. Misha would then quietly come up to a candidate for surgery and ask if they wanted to go to America. The
incredulous mothers would express shock and disbelief. One even
thought he was out to shake her down for money. "How much is
this going to cost me? She asked. "Not a thing" he answered "we do
it for free." Others would be invited to have surgery at the Bakulev
Center on the Gift of Life program – again at no cost.
Misha leaves behind a legacy to which few can lay claim. He was
personally responsible for helping to identify and arrange treatment
for literally hundreds of children. He met the families as they
traveled from far off places to Moscow for the long flight to New
York and ultimate healing for their children. He picked them up at
airports and train stations, and ensured that they made their flights.
All the while, he reassured the nervous parents that their children
would be well cared for and that the health issues that had plagued
them, often for years, would soon be over. He was a gentle,
compassionate soul and completely dedicated to the children.
Misha’s sudden passing, after a short battle with pancreatic cancer,
leaves a hole in our heart that only the passing of time can heal.
Michael Yurieff
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Save-A-Child–Since 1992
Russian Gift of Life gratefully acknowledges its Save-A-Child
donors whose generosity has made heart surgery possible for
hundreds of children at participating hospitals in the United
States and Russia.
Churches and Charitable Organizations
St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church, Duquesne, PA.
St. Nicholas Orthodox Church, Pittsfield, MA
Ivan V. Koulaieff Educational Fund
Russian Children’s Welfare Society – New York
Russian Children’s Welfare Society – San Francisco
Russian Nobility Association in America
The New York Community Trust
Corporations
Alliance Bernstein
Altria Group, Inc.
Altronix
American Express Foundation
Otis Elevator
Philip Morris Companies
Reader’s Digest Foundation
Save-A-Child from Family and Friends in Honor of:
Elena and Vitali Ivanoff ’s 50th Wedding Anniversary
Fr. Leonid and Mimi Kishkovsky’s 25th Wedding Anniversary
Maria Kishkovsky and Nicolas Megrelis Wedding
Baptism of Alexander Megrelis
Anna Lipkin’s Bat Mitzvah Project
Save-A-Child in Memory of:
Helen and Stephen Barna
Irina Beck
Alexander Bout, Jr.
Vitaly Boynowsky
Nina Chordas
Dr. Oleg Erdely
Pauline and Hyman Forman
Frank, John and Paraska Fritz
Andre and Tatiana Guevorguian
Slava Ilachinski
Fr. Alexander Kiselev
Andrei Koloskov
Valery Lipovski
Fr. George Lukashuk
Boris Lusin
Lyal Marshall
Helen and George Messner
Nickolas Nedo
Nicholas Ozerov
Helen and Sam Pichkur
Dr. Nicolas Poloukhine
Helen Pushchin
Nicolas Mussin-Pushkin
Ludmila Skaredoff
Ivan Sorokin
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Anna Suranovich
Serge Troubetzkoy
Musa Walch
Kurt Weishaupt
Zoya Yurieff
Save-A-Child Donors
ALEXANDROVICH, Alex and Jeanne
ARLIEVSKY, Igor and Alla
BECK, Alexander
BRANZOW, Anatoly and Ludmilla
BUTKOV, Dr. Eugene
CHAPIN, Christopher and Larissa
CHORDAS, Michel
DEL ROSSO, John and Victoria
DERBY Family Foundation
FORMAN, Alan and Tatyana
FRIEDMAN, Dr. Deborah
FRITZ, Mary B.
GEACINTOV, Cyril and Elke
GURVITS, Alexandr and Irina
ILACHINSKI, Katia
JORDAN, Boris and Elizabeth
KING, Valerie
KISHKOVSKY, Fr. Leonid and Mimi
KOSKO, Barbara
KOVALEV, Alex and Eugenia
KOZLOV, Viacheslav and Tatiana
KSENOFONTOVA, Svetlana
LERKE, Peter and Catherine
LIPKIN, Anna
LIPKIN, Michael and Elena
LOGVINOV, Helen
MEGRELIS, Maria and Nicolas
MESSNER, Anna and Paul
MOGILNY, Alexander and Natalia
NEMCHINOV, Sergei and Elena
NETCH, Renate Natalia
NOSIKOVSKY, Roman and Elvira
POLOUKHINE Family
PUSHCHIN, Oleg
REX, Vincent
RUDOLPH-SHABINSKY, John and Kathleen
RUKAVCHENKO, Patricia
TARKOV, John
TIAJOLOFF, Andrew L.
TODOSOW, Michael and Helen
TYMUS, Olga and Peter and Family
ULITIN, Vladimir and Sophia
VORBURGER, Nadine
WEISHAUPT, Kurt and Ethel
YERMILOV, Vladimir and Neda
YURIEFF, Michael
ZILL, Anne O.
RGOL Journal 09 q6
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4:17 PM
Page 11
11
RGOL Journal 09 q6
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Page 12
Children Operated 2007 - 2008
Nikita P. age 13
Bakulev Center
Marina S. age 21 months
Tomsk Cardiac Center
Matvey S. age 4
Victoria K. age 8
Bakulev Center
photo
unavailable
12
Anton S. age 7
Bakulev Center
Aleksandr L. age 4
Bakulev Center
Sasha S. age 1
Aleksandr S. age 9 months
Bakulev Center
Evgeny A. age 5
Bakulev Center
Grigori K. age 4
Bakulev Center
Elena B. age 14
Bakulev Center
Georgi B. age 10
Bakulev Center
RGOL Journal 09 q6
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4:18 PM
Page 13
photo
unavailable
Artem M. age 14
Bakulev Center
Tatyana N. age 12
Bakulev Center
Sergei K. age 11
Maksim F. age 11
Sasha K. age 11
Nastya P. age 6
Nastya P. age 14
Denis M. age 12
photo
unavailable
Dmitry S. age 9
Bakulev Center
Ivan K. age 2
Bakulev Center
Aleksandr P. age 2
Bakulev Center
Angelina P. age 5
Bakulev Center
13
RGOL Journal 09 q6
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Page 14
Angela I. age 13
Bakulev Center
Vika M. age 8
Natasha S. age 6 months
* Tomsk
Cardiac Center
Darina P. age 1
*
Anastasia A. age 9 months
Kristina T. age 3
*
Edgar U. age 13
NYU Medical Center
Oleg K. age 18 months
*Tomsk
Cardiac Center
Artem T. age 8 months
*Tomsk
Cardiac Center
Sofia O. age 7 months
*Tomsk
Cardiac Center
Akram Z. age 2
Bakulev Center
Yulyana R. age 8
Bakulev Center
In Collaboration with Heart to Heart International Children’s Medical Alliance
In Collaboration with Rotary District 7250 - Gift of Life, Inc.
14
RGOL Journal 09 q6
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Page 15
Maksim P. age 14
Bakulev Center
Misha L. age 14
Alesha G. age 6
Yegor B. age 13
Sasha T. age 8
Saba C. age 5
Bakulev Center
Beybars Z. age 2
Kristina S. age 2
Mikhail S. age 7
Bakulev Center
Valya E. age 8
Denis D. age 4
Dima S. age 8
15
RGOL Journal 09 q6
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Page 16
Irina P. age 12
Bakulev Center
*
Tatiana T. age 2
Kemerovo Cardiac Center
Artur B. age 15
*
Edward C. age 3
Ruslan K. age 10
Berlin Cardiac Center
*
Alexandra P. age 5
*
Anastasia L. age 8
*
Anya V. age 18 months
photo
unavailable
*
Julia G. age 10
*
Aaron A. age 4
*
Natasha A. age 8
Eugene S. age 5 months
*Kemerovo
Cardiac Center
* In Collaboration with International Children’s Heart Foundation and Rotary District 7250 - Gift of Life, Inc.
16
RGOL Journal 09 q6
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Page 17
photo
unavailable
*
*
Nikita T. age 2
Ilya C. age 20 months
Angela S. age 9 months
*Kemerovo
Cardiac Center
Victor O. age 1
*
Galina O. age 17
Bakulev Center
Victoria M. age 8
St. Francis Hospital
Anzhelika P. age 6
Kirill S. age 2
Kostya K. age 1
Denis K. age 10
Bakulev Center
Nikita S. age 2
Tolia C. age 2
*
* In Collaboration with International Children’s Heart Foundation and Rotary District 7250 - Gift of Life, Inc.
17
RGOL Journal 09 q6
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Page 18
photo
unavailable
Emilya D. age 20
Bellevue Hospital
Aleksandr S. age 4
Bakulev Center
Alesha O. age 17 months
Liza T. age 3
Andrei B. age 11
Darina M. age 3
Bakulev Center
Veranika K. age 2 months
Danil K. age 3
photo
unavailable
Anton S. age 2
18
Kostya C. age 3 months
Vladik K. age 8
Roman D. age 3
Bakulev Center
RGOL Journal 09 q6
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Page 19
Pavel K. age 7
Bakulev Center
Rushana N. age 16
Polina K. age 6
Bakulev Center
Anzhelina P. age 3
Karina F. age 10 months
Vladislav Y. age 2
Dasha M. age 2
Danya K. age 8
Nadezhda R. age 6
Bakulev Center
Tatiana K. age 12
Bakulev Center
Yana N. age 3
Bakulev Center
*
Vladislav K. age 5
*
19
RGOL Journal 09 q6
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Page 20
S. age 22 months
* Darneli
Ivan S. age 9
Maria Z. age 13 months
* Tomsk
Cardiac Center
Sergei Galkin age 16
Yana G. age 10 months
Matvey R. age 2
Bakulev Center
Elina P. age 6
Yaroslava T. age 3
Montefiore Medical Center
Anastasia B. age 4
Maria F. age 11
Natalia S. age 5
Matvey. age 2
*
*
20
RGOL Journal 09 q6
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Page 21
The Officers and Board of Directors
of Gift of Life, Inc.
are proud of their association with
The Russian Gift of Life
and indebted to you for your untiring
efforts to save the lives of
needy children through the miracle
of open-heart surgery.
Congratulations on all the beautiful
hearts you have healed!
21
RGOL Journal 09 q6
22
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Page 22
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Page 23
In Appreciation
of Russian Gift of
Life’s dedication
to helping
Russian children
win their battle
with heart disease.
20
th
from a Russian Hockey Player
Sergei and Elena Nemchinov
23
RGOL Journal 09 q6
24
10/19/09
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Page 24
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Page 25
25
RGOL Journal 09 q6
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In Loving Memory
of
Slava Ilachinski
26
RGOL Journal 09 q6
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Page 27
To many more years!
In joyous celebration of my
father's 90th Birthday.
Helen Todosow and the family
and friends of Oleg Pushchin.
Helen and Michael Todosow are
thrilled to announce the
engagement of their daughter,
Christina, to Adrian Rodzianko.
Christina and Adrian met last year
at the Russian Gift of Life
"Evening of Hope" summer garden
party - a truly special night for the
two of them. May the two of you
have a life-time of health and
happiness together.
27
RGOL Journal 09 q6
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Page 28
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Page 29
“Once you choose hope,
anything’s possible.”
Christopher Reeve
Our heartfelt congratulations
and thanks to Russian Gift of Life,
your patrons and friends for giving
hope to so many children and
their families.
Margaret and Eamon Lavin
In Appreciation of
Russian Gift of Life’s Twenty Years of
Saving Children’s Lives through
Heart Surgery
The Lipkin Family
Margarita Zubareva
Lipetsk, Russia
29
RGOL Journal 09 q6
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Page 30
DRG
Medical Diagnostic Group
USA Corporate Headquarters
DRG International, Inc.
1167 US Hwy. 22E, Mountainside, NJ 07092
Tel: (908) 233-2079 Fax: (908) 233-0758
Web: www.drg-international.com
Russian Subsidiaries
is honored to support the Russian
Gift of Life children’s charity on the
occasion of its 20th anniversary.
DRG develops, manufactures, and
distributes medical diagnostic products
worldwide including Russia and CIS
DRG TechSystems
T. Shevchenko Embankment, 3
Moscow 12 12 48 Russia
E-mail: drgtech@dol.ru
DRG Biomed O.O.O.
#1 ul. Serdobolskaja, Suite 183
St. Petersburg 19 41 56 Russia
E-mail: drgspb@users.mns.ru
Russian Gift of Life
Wishes to Thank
Glenn Bradford Fine Jewelers
for their support of our
20th anniversary benefit
30
RGOL Journal 09 q6
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Page 31
Congratulations
Russian Gift of Life
for the many young lives
you have saved over
the past twenty years
John M. Tucciarone
attorney at law
1 6 1 AT L A N T I C AV E N U E - S U I T E L L 3
B R O O K LY N , N E W Y O R K 11 2 0 1
( 7 1 8 ) 2 5 4 - 0 5 8 0 FA X ( 7 1 8 ) 2 5 4 - 0 0 1 9
EMAIL: TUCCILAN1@AOL.COM
Sandra and John Capri
9Russian Gift of Life Journal 2009
31
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Page 32
Fifty Ways You Can Help
It’s not just money. Charities need your time, your connections, and your creative ideas.
Giving Money
1. Donations in cash or check in any
amount are always appreciated.
2. Make a minimum monthly donation of $10.
3. Make an annual donation.
4. Make a contribution in memory of
a loved one.
5. At least once a year have friends
and family donate to Russian Gift of
Life in lieu of birthday or Christmas
gifts.
6. Make a contribution in honor of a
special occasion—wedding anniversary, birthday, christening, etc.
7. Sponsor a child in memory of a
loved one.
Giving Securities
8. Donate appreciated stock and save
capital gains taxes.
9. Donate all or part of your IRA and
save on taxes.
10. Donate savings bonds.
Deferred Giving
11. Include us in your estate plan.
12. Contact us about planned giving
opportunities.
13. Make us the beneficiary of your
life insurance policy.
Non-cash Contributions
14. Donate real estate.
15. Donate frequent flier miles.
16. Donate artwork, vehicles, furniture, or other real property. (All noncash contributions are subject to our
approval.)
32
Giving Your Time
17. Pray for all the children who need
our help.
18. Volunteer to translate documents
from Russian into English and
English into Russian.
19. Volunteer to interpret for a parent
and child.
20. Take a parent and child sightseeing in New York.
21. Help stuff envelopes.
22. Share your connections—the
average person knows about 200 people.
23. Share your ideas—how can we
better promote our life-saving mission.
24. Learn about our life-saving charity so that you can champion our
cause wherever you go.
25. Learn about the needs of underprivileged children with treatable
heart defects.
26. Learn about the needs of hospitals in Russia.
27. E-mail people you know and
invite them to our free events.
28. Invite people to our fundraisers.
29. Solicit pages and listings for next
year’s Russian Gift of Life Journal.
30. Collect memorial donations from
friends and family.
31. Translate case studies from
Russian into English for our website.
32. Be a pen pal for a child in Russia.
33. Volunteer to pick up children and
parents from the airport.
34. Help disseminate information
about congenital heart defects.
35. Attend our events.
36. Tell people you know about our
charity and give them our brochure.
37. E-mail people you know information about our charity.
38. Ask a friend to sign up for our
mailing list through our website.
39. Collect money at funerals for
Russian Gift of Life in lieu of flowers.
40. Organize a fundraising drive at
your school.
41. Suggest ways we can improve our
website.
42. E-mail us articles and information you come across that may be of
interest to our charity.
43. Make sure we have your up-todate contact information—name,
address, phone number, e-mail, etc.
44. Invite us to speak about our charity to groups you belong to.
45. Make introductions and put us in
touch with potential donors.
46. Host a Russian Gift of Life video
party in your home. You provide the
refreshments, we’ll provide a video
and materials about our charity for
your guests.
47. Offer to host a mother and child
in your home during their stay in the
United States.
48. Offer to visit a mother and child
at Ronald McDonald house.
49. Ask your employer to add us to
their list of charities and match any
gift you make.
50. Pray for all the children who need
our help.
RGOL Journal 09 q6
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Page 33
In Loving Memory of
Marianna Ayvaz
Irina Beck
Charles Blodi
Tatiana Eberl
Dr. Oleg Erdely
Tatiana Guevorguian
Slava Ilachinski
Rita Jarovicky
Zina Korsakoff
Maria Kozlova
Elisabeth Lopukhin
Boris Lusin
George and Helen Messner
Nicholas Ozerov
Dr. Nicolas Poloukhine
Helen Pushchin
Yevgeny Rutkowsky
George Schidlovsky
Dimitri Shurigin
Russian Gift of Life gratefully acknowledges the many years of invaluable service
these dedicated volunteers so generously gave in support of our live-saving mission.
We remember with deep appreciation the love and compassion they demonstrated
with each child whose heart they helped to heal. Their commitment and devotion
to underprivileged children in need of heart surgery has touched the lives of so
many and will never be forgotten.
RGOL Journal 09 q6
10/19/09
4:15 PM
Page 2
Saving children’s lives through heart surgery
www.rgol.org
Russian Gift of Life, Inc.
P.O. Box 403
Sea Cliff, NY 11579-0403
tel. (516) 277-1081
fax (516) 671-3720
A 501(C)(3) Tax-Exempt Organization

Russian Gift of Life Journal

Transcription

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