Good Morning and Happy Sunday Fellow Rotarians! I hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful Labor Day long weekend! We went on a 8 mile hike yesterday with our dog and a few friends and I think I will be spending the next two days in an Adirondack chair with my feet up and a bottomless glass of wine in my hand! :)
Now, for anyone who missed this week's Zoom call, we had the pleasure of hearing from Ron Raylman, the CEO of the wonderful organization, Gift Of Life International!
Gift of Life International is a Rotarian-based organization which cares for children who have heart disease and may not be able to get treatment in their home country. Over the past forty years, Gift of Life has helped over 37,000 children from more than 80 countries across 5 continents in receiving treatment and a chance at a better quality of life. Gift of Life is a global network comprised of 84 Gift of Life Affiliated Programs located in every corner if the world. The majority of these programs are housed in Rotary Clubs or Rotary Districts.
Through collaborative efforts, Gift of Life is healing little hearts around the world who otherwise may not have been able to receive treatment. Their mission is to provide lifesaving cardiac treatment to children in need from developing countries regardless of gender, creed, or national origin. The ultimate goal of the organization is to develop sustainable pediatric cardiac programs by implementing screening, as well as surgical and training missions which are supported by autonomous Gift of Life programs, Rotary Global Grants and generous donor funds from across the world.
I think the aspect that hit home the hardest for me is the hulking, impassable roadblock that COVID-19 has placed in front of Gift of Life. They are an organization that operates by teaching lifesaving techniques overseas and now overseas travel is banned (or at least restricted) for the most part. They have to be frustrated, fed-up, and looking for solutions on how to continue doing their incredible lifesaving work while a pandemic is wreaking pure havoc on the world.
Mr. Raylman was so positive about the subject, telling stories about teams of doctors and nurses they have already trained taking on immense amounts of responsibility and risk by operating on these children without the Gift of Life Team there in person. They have truly stepped up to plate in the face of a global pandemic and truthfully, those are the type of people we need operating on these children. It was so wonderful to hear about the resiliency and passion that these doctors and nurses showed as they fought to operate on and improve the quality of life for these beautiful children during a time when both their lives and the children's were so seriously at risk.
Both Mr. Raylman and fellow Glens Falls Rotarian Bob Rosoff spoke of a young child who had been flown in locally to Albany from Mongolia in order to access lifesaving treatment. He, his mother, and their translator arrived in Albany around February and were not able to leave to go back to Mongolia until (I believe) beginning of August. This was all due to the pandemic, and they ended up staying much longer than anticipated in the states. The little boy received his treatment and came out on the other side a much stronger, happier young man. It was heartwarming to see pictures of him and to hear his story and how he survived not only heart surgery and treatment in a foreign country, but also a global pandemic. There is a very large chance he would not have survived (or would have had a much worse quality of life) if it had not been for the hard work of the team at Gift of Life and the generous donations/fundraising from Rotarians like you.
At the top of your spinoff (just like last week) you will see a box saying "Click this....". I have included a link to the recording of the Zoom meeting so that if you missed it, you can still catch up on Gift of Life and the amazing things that they do! You will have to enter a passcode when you click on the link, I have provided it above on the link so that it is easy to see and write down.
So now I challenge everyone to sign up for the annual Gift of Life Golf Tournament and show up to support a cause that puts the health and safety of children at the forefront! I will include a link below to the tournament's home page. If you are not comfortable going to the golf tournament that is quite alright! I will also include a link so that you can donate online (contact-less and secure) if you would prefer. Remember, every little bit counts!
P.S. Peep the Member Spotlight for this week, Ed Fitzgerald below! Send your submissions for the member spotlight to stepinic101@gmail.com to be featured in our weekly spinoffs!
Thanks for reading, and I can't wait to see everyone on the Zoom call this Thursday!
This week's Member Spotlight was submitted by Patti Pepe! Thank you Patti for nominating Ed Fitzgerald to be the first member to be featured in the Spinoffs!
Ed Fitzgerald is a Glens Falls native. He is the son of Rotarian, Bill Fitzgerald, and cousin to our Rotary President, John Fitzgerald.
He attended the University of Maine at Orono and graduated with an engineering degree. He went on to attend Albany Law School and is now a partner at McPhillips, Fitzgerald & Cullum, LLP.
Ed is married to Catherine (Cate) and they are celebrating their 15th wedding anniversary this year. They have two children, Emily, 9, a 5th grader and Matthew, 6, a 2nd grader.
They have a dog named Ranger who is a Lagotto Romagnolo (an Italian water dog). Ed likes outdoor activities such as skiing (both cross country and downhill), boating, hiking, camping as well as reading about history and travel.
Ed is an Eagle Scout as well as an usher at the First Presbyterian Church.
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