Dear Friends:

We were proud to sponsor the Jerome Lejeune Service Award at the Hearts of Joy International gala this last Thursday. Founded by Lauren Costabile, Hearts of Joy provides life-saving heart surgeries to infants with Down Syndrome in developing countries and the U.S. They have a particular focus on nations like Uganda, where babies with Down Syndrome are systematically denied care. Seeing this injustice, Lauren did something about it.

The first recipient of the award, Dr. R. Krishna Kumar, leads the team that provides surgery for the Hearts of Joy babies out of India. Believe it or not, some of these babies from developing nations must travel all the way to India with the Hearts of Joy team because medical professionals in their home country deny surgery under the erroneous and heinous belief that their lives aren't worth living. As a sign of his selflessness and dedication, the Dr. Kumar donated the gift from our foundation to offset the cost of the next surgery his team performs. Now, that’s a man who exemplifies the life of Dr. Lejeune. 

We look forward to partnering with Hearts of Joy in the future as we systematically build practical medical solutions for the underserved people we serve in the U.S. If we want to deliver on that promise, our foundation will need more people like Lauren. We intend to save hearts, and convert them too.

Please check out their website and consider getting involved too: Hearts of Joy International – Website.

On a personal note, the special emcee of the evening was Zack Gottsagen, the co-star of The Peanut Butter Falcon. If you haven’t seen the award-winning movie with Zack and Shia LaBeouf, I highly recommend it. Zack was a skilled co-host, formidable dancer, and I thoroughly enjoyed meeting him.

Thank you for your continued support. Let’s keep building.

Daniel C. Schreck
President and Chairman
Jerome Lejeune Foundation USA