The Saul and Theresa Esman Foundation Executive Director Murray Levin (l) presented a check to Gift of Life CEO and Founder Jay Feinberg.  Photo by: Bancroft Creative Group

The Saul and Theresa Esman Foundation presented a generous contribution of $30,000 to Gift of Life at the annual Campus Ambassador Program Symposium banquet on Tuesday, August 9, 2016.

The foundation's Executive Director – and longtime friend of Gift of Life – Murray Levin presented the check to  Gift of Life CEO and Founder Jay Feinberg before a crowd of over 100 college students, who will hold donor recruiting drives on behalf of Gift of Life on 88 campuses during the 2016-17 academic year.  Levin also announced that the foundation plans to continue funding the symposium indefinitely. 

Members of the AEPi fraternity were also in attendance at the banquet, as well as local community leaders.

The Campus Ambassador Program offers an exciting on-campus internship program to college students, which is kicked off during a three-day long symposium held in Boca Raton every August prior to the start of the school year. Students arrive from across the United States to receive training in how to recruit volunteers, run donor recruitment drives and promote the drives through social media.

After completing their training on August 10, the students headed out to their colleges and universities to start the fall semester. The first initiative for them is to host a donor drive for World Marrow Donor Day on September 17, 2016.

 Levin gave a heartwarming speech about his personal interest in and relationship with Gift of Life. He said that when he first learned about the organization he “could not believe that someone would send a courier to hand carry donated transplant tissues across the country to save the life of only one human being.”

He also spoke about a young leukemia victim he felt a strong personal connection with, and how Gift of Life Director of Community Engagement Marti Freund picked him up one morning and drove him to Ft. Myers, Fla. to meet the child. This personal interest in each bone marrow donor and transplant recipient is what Levin feels sets Gift of Life apart as a unique and impactful organization.

Feinberg expressed thanks to Levin, the Esmans and their foundation. “The Campus Ambassador Program has had a tremendous impact on our ability to recruit much-needed donors to save the lives of those suffering from leukemia, lymphoma, sickle cell anemia, and other blood disorders,” said Feinberg. “This grant ensures that we’ll be able to prepare college students for their internships for the next several years.” 

The Saul and Theresa Esman Foundation was created by Theresa Esman in 2008 after Saul, her husband of 50 years, passed away. The couple made South Florida their home many years earlier when Saul sold his sporting goods business in Pittsburgh. The Esmans have made it their legacy of charitable giving to fight diseases. The Foundation donates to charitable organizations, funding research in Alzheimer’s, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, arthritis and epilepsy, among others.