The Evolution of Gift of Life.
Maximizing Our Impact to Help More Children
Gift of Life is a Rotarian-based organization that has evolved over the past 4 decades into a global network of caring. Our traditional model for providing care to children with heart disease from emerging countries was to bring one child at a time to the United States for treatment. For the first 30 years of our existence, this was our primary means of providing hope to children who were not able to receive treatment in their country of birth.
Although this remains an important part of the Gift of Life Global Network, we have now evolved, enabling us to help address the crisis that exists today for children with heart disease throughout the world who lack access to treatment. Through the strategy we have developed, over 99% of the more than 3,000 children each year we provide care to are treated in their country of birth.
Pictured to the left is Daniela from Romania – the 33,000th child treated through the Gift of Life Global Network of Caring.
Our Evolution
43 Years of providing hope to children with heart disease and
healing little hearts around the world
1 in 100
This year, approximately 131 million children will be born. Statistically 1 in every 100 will have a congenital heart defect.
2009
Gift of Life International initiates ‘Our Hearts are in…’ program focused on the development of sustainable pediatric cardiac programs in select emerging countries
2003
In 2003, GOL was formed with the following Guiding Principles:
- Develop new GOL programs
- Maximize the capacity of existing GOL programs
- Develop partnerships with like-minded NGOs
- Tell the collective story of GOL programs
Over
3,000
Children Treated Annually
Throughout our Global Network of Caring
1975
First - ever GOL recipient received
second chance at life
Over
33,000
Children Treated
From 80 Countries Across 5 Continents
In 2008, GOL global network celebrated saving our
10,000th
Child
1.3 Million
Each year, 1.3 million children are born with congenital heart disease, and 93% of them are born in a country that cannot care for them.
274
Rotary Clubs
61
Rotary Districts
Support Gift of
Life Efforts
Around the World
network consists of