Dear Friend,

At the beginning of this century, before world wars, religious, tribal, and political strife robbed human society of much potential advancement, Andrew Carnegie made a generous endowment to create a foundation for peace. As a poor immigrant who rose to power and fantastic wealth, Carnegie was no fool by any yardstick. It is noteworthy, however, that at the outset he expected this organization to find a solution to war within five years and asked his Board of Trustees (paraphrased) , "After we solve the war problem, what are we going to do with the rest of the money?"

The International Children's Heart Foundation has great expectations, but we do not anticipate saving every unfortunate child born with heart disease. Instead, we are committed to saving as many young lives as our resources can manage in the hope that even one of these children may mature into a great statesman, peacemaker, scientist, philanthropist, or philosopher -- one who will help advance human society another inch or two towards the dream of Carnegie and others.

To this end, we use our limited resources to help those less fortunate, make friends around the world and feel in our hearts that our individual lives have made at least a small difference in the fate of our fellow man.

With the sincerest hope that you will join the International Children's Heart Foundation in this effort, I am

Yours very truly,
William M. Novick, M.D.
Founder and Medical Director
International Children's Heart Foundation