Greenfield Rotary members Amy Borgmann, Adam Jurs and Monica Kowaleski celebrate the club’s achievements at the 23rd annual Gift of Life auction on Saturday, Feb. 26 at the Community Life Center just east of Cumberland.
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GREENFIELD — The smile on 9-year-old Johanna’s face lit up the screen at the 23rd annual Gift of Life auction this past weekend.
The 200-plus guests at the local fundraising event watched the happy Filipino girl frolick and play as her mother chatted on a pre-recorded Zoom call with Marie Castetter, a Greenfield Rotarian who co-chaired the Gift of Life event this year.
Johanna personifies the spirit of the annual Gift of Life fundraiser.
Hosted by the Rotary Club of Greenfield, the event raises money to support Riley Children’s Hospital surgeons who perform life-saving heart operations on young patients like her from around the world, mostly from the Middle East and the Philippines.
The program is part of Gift of Life International, a Rotarian service program which has treated more than 40,000 children in 80 countries around the world over the past 46 years.
More than $75,000 was raised at this year’s Gift of Life event, held Saturday, Feb. 26 at the Community Life Center just east of Cumberland.
“It was a huge success this year for us,” said Castetter, who was thrilled to see the event return after being held virtually last year due to COVID.
“We only raised $17,000 last year with our virtual auction, so being in person makes a huge difference,” she said.
“People like to get dressed up and mingle and have fun together. There was some lively bidding going back and forth. It was a great excuse for people to get dressed up and have some fun.”
Those in attendance embraced this year’s theme — “Blinging it Back” — many sporting sequined gowns and bow ties. One Rotarian, Adam Jurs, wore a shimmering silver sequin jacket.
Ticket sales were down somewhat this year — with 210 sold, compared to the average of 250 in years past — but Castetter said it was a great rebuilding year considering the threat of the latest COVID surge only recently passed.
“The ticket sales jumped up in just the last couple of weeks,” she said.
Castetter credits the many Rotarians and community members who spread the word about the event and donated items to be auctioned off this year, including many “experiences.”
“We auctioned off dinner with (Greenfield mayor Chuck Fewell) and tickets to see Journey, along with some really great jewelry donated by Miller’s Jewelry,” said Castetter.
The late Leonard Haines, who owned Miller’s Jewelry, was always a big supporter of the Gift of Life program, she said. His daughter, Sherry Haines, who now runs the business, co-chaired the event this year.
“It’s been really great to have them both on board as part of this program,” Castetter said.
Local auctioneer Wayne Addison led last weekend’s live auction with his signature high-energy style.
The lively bidding resulted in tens of thousands of dollars raised to help children like Johanna, who was facing a life-threatening heart condition when Riley physicians performed surgery on her five years ago, when she was just 4 years old.
The smiling, energetic young girl on the screen Saturday night was a true testament to why Greenfield Rotarians host the Gift of Life event each year, said Rob Caird, president the Greenfield Rotary club.
“Gift of Life is important because it literally saves lives. That is what makes all of the hard work worth it,” he said.
“We spend months planning and prepping, but that effort leads to children being able to run and play, whereas before their heart surgeries, such activities could be fatal. Taking that burden off the shoulders of their parents and allowing children an opportunity at life gives this community a chance to make a difference.”
Greenfield Rotarians not only support the program at the Gift of Life auction, but all year long.
When the families of young Gift of Life heart patients come to Riley Children’s Hospital from the other side of the world, Rotarians step up to provide them with food and transportation from the hospital to the Ronald McDonald House, where most of them stay.
“They’ll bring them groceries for the week, or however long their child is here for surgery, and will also help pay for some medical supplies,” said Castetter.
At the Gift of Life Auction, guests are encouraged to “buy a heart” inscribed with the amount of money it takes to fund various items, whether it’s medical supplies, groceries or a stay at the Ronald McDonald House.
“These are just some of the things we can help provide for,” Castetter said.
Funds also help support overseas medical trips, in which Riley physicians travel across the world to perform life-saving heart surgeries for children and training local doctors in pediatric cardiac care. As the Gift of Life auction was taking place Saturday, a team of Riley doctors were heading out on their latest trip — to train doctors while performing life-saving surgery on three young children in Amman, Jordan.
“The doctors are going there and training the local heart surgeons and medical teams there so that they can provide the long-term care in their homeland, long after our doctors have left,” said Castetter.
It’s the type of care that can save young lives for years to come, she said.
In the pre-recorded Zoom call that was shown at the Gift of Life event on Saturday, Johanna’s mother, Carmine, shared how scared she was that her daughter wouldn’t live to see her fifth birthday due to the heart condition that once threatened her life.
“The prognosis wasn’t good,” recalled Castetter, who was on the Zoom call with the mom.
The mother talked about how there was another baby (nearby) with the same ailment as Johanna had. The baby had died, and the mother was talking about how fearful she had been that Johanna wasn’t going to make it. She never imagined they’d be coming to Indianapolis one day for life-saving surgery,” she said.
On the Zoom call, the mother recalled the Greenfield Rotarians who were so generous to her and her daughter when they came to town, thanking many of them by name.
Castetter was moved by the video call that took place half a world away, saying “It was wonderful to see Johanna in the background as her mother talked, running around and having fun as a 9-year-old should.”
To learn more about the Gift of Life program, visit GiftOfLifeInternational.org.
