The Gift of Life 15th Annual Golf & Tennis Tournament will be held June 17 at
the Lancaster Country Club (6061 Broadway, Lancaster) and the Village Glen Tennis Club (162 Mill Street, Williamsville). A humanitarian project of Rotary International District 7090 with Rotary Clubs in Western New York and Southern Ontario, the Gift of Life provides life-saving open-heart surgery to children from the United States, Canada and other countries who have congenital heart defects. All funds raised go directly to the life-saving care of children who otherwise could not afford it.

Since the project began in 1993, Rotary District 7090 has saved 37 children suffering with congenital heart defects who would not have lived beyond their teen years. The 67 Gift of Life projects around the world have saved over 15,000 children since 1975.

Rotary District 7090 has entered into a cooperative agreement with Women & Children’s Hospital of Buffalo and the Hospital For Sick Children in Toronto to provide the necessary hospital facilities and medical staff to provide life-saving open-heart surgery to children from infancy to 21 years old. The surgeons and other medical staff provide their services to the program at no cost. The hospitals charge the Gift of Life minimal costs to cover disposables, medicines, etc. The additional expenses of the accompanying parent or guardian-escort and post-operative medication while in the United States or Canada are paid for by the Gift of Life. If the Rotary Club in the sponsoring country cannot pay the cost of air transportation, the Gift of Life may cover it as well.

Patients are referred to the Gift of Life by Gift of Life International or one of the more than 31,000 Rotary Clubs in 164 countries worldwide. When the child returns to his or her own country, recommended follow-up treatment and medication are provided to the child’s physician and the sponsoring Rotary Club.

There is still time to participate:

* Sponsorships range from $100 to $5,000.

* Program ads are available from $50 to $300 (deadline is June 7).

* Play in the Golf Tournament (registration begins at 10am at the Lancaster Country Club, golf begins at noon). Your donation of $125 includes golf, a golf cart, a delicious BBQ lunch and a mouth-watering steak dinner.

* Play in the Tennis Tournament sponsored by Rotarian Tony Diina (begins at 2pm at the Village Glen Tennis Club). Your donation of $50 includes that BBQ lunch and steak dinner at the Lancaster Country Club.

* Enjoy that BBQ lunch and steak dinner at the Lancaster Country Club for $50 (lunch begins at 10:30am, cash bar begins at 5pm, sit-down dinner, awards, auction and raffle begin at 6pm).

Visit our website at www.giftoflife7090.org for more information or to register, or contact Marian Hetherly at (716) 308-9649. Checks made payable to "The Gift of Life, Inc." may be mailed to: Hamburg Sunrise Rotary, Gift of Life, Inc., PO Box 96, Hamburg, NY 14075.