Join Area Rotarians in Saving Children's Lives by Taking Part in the Gift of Life Walk

Volunteers from all over Northern New Jersey are invited to save children's lives by participating in the 5th Annual Gift of Life Walk-a-thon on May 2nd beginning at 9:00 A.M at Bergen Community College in Paramus. The Rotary Gift of Life program needs both walkers and sponsorship donations in order to provide open-heart surgery for terminally ill children, from home and abroad.

Complete Walk information is provided at the event’s dedicated website at www.GiftOfLifeWalk.org . From the website, you can sign-up for the walk, form a team, and even send out an email to potential sponsors or team members.

Team members for the Gift of Life Walk will be approaching individuals throughout the area, seeking personal sponsors for their participation. Contributions of any amount are greatly appreciated. The Walk-a-thon Committee is also seeking corporate sponsorships. Various opportunities are available for contributions ranging from Team sponsorships of $300 to a Platinum sponsorship of $10,000. To volunteer for the Walk Committee, or to ask about corporate/personal sponsorships, readers can call Committee Chairman Joe Laureni, at 201-390-3470. E-mail correspondence can be addressed to jlaureni@yahoo.com.

Over the years, our local Gift of Life Program has saved the lives of more than 650 children. Doctors at several hospitals throughout the NY Metropolitan area volunteer their time and surgical expertise.

Rotary District 7490 is comprised of Rotary clubs in Bergen, Hudson and Passaic Counties. A project of Rotary District 7490, the Walk has the local support of the Bergen Community, Paramus and the Paramus Sunrise Rotary Clubs and invites members of the community to come out and join us.

Rotary provides transportation for the sick child and his/her parent from their home country to the U.S. Children come from the Ukraine, China, Honduras, Ecuador, Haiti, Honduras, Poland, Mongolia, Peru, Nepal, and many other countries. Parent and child stay here with a host family, generally that of a Rotarian.

Children are sponsored by specific Rotary Clubs, and their members help with transportation, hospital visits, supporting the parent, buying presents for the children...and showing them what America is all about! After the surgery, and a recovery period, the parent and child return home to start a new, healthy life.

The funds needed for the surgery are acquired through generous donations and fundraising events such as the Walk-a-thon. In addition, Rotary sponsors Gift of Life doctors who travel worldwide to educate local physicians in their procedures and to set up surgical facilities to provide care locally for countries in need.