MT. FREEDOM, N.J./EWORLDWIRE/May 31, 2007 --- Richard Gary Zell of Flemington, N.J., secured an $18,750 grant from the MDRT Foundation on behalf of the Sturge-Weber Foundation (SWF).Zell, who nominated and endorsed the grant application, is with the Family Financial Group and is a seven-year MDRT member and active supporter of the Sturge-Weber Foundation. The SWF is a non-profit organization providing worldwide education, support and research for individuals with Sturge-Weber syndrome, a congenital neurological disorder which can include a facial port wine stain birthmark, glaucoma and seizures. It also extends its educational and support activities to individuals and families affected by Port Wine Stain conditions and Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome.
Representing the MDRT Foundation, Zell and SWF member Joseph Affatato of Robbinsville, N.J., presented the grant to Karen Ball, president and CEO, and Kaelin Ball, Goodwill Ambassador of the Sturge-Weber Foundation, on May 24, 2007. The SWF, a 501 (c) (3) non-profit, was founded in 1987 and now has an international membership.
The MDRT Foundation grant will support a program of the SWF that funds a networking and education conference for parents and children with Sturge-Weber syndrome.
The SWF 11th International Conference will be held July 11-15 in Anaheim, Calif. Funds from the MDRT grant will be used to support the educational, therapeutic and recreational activities planned for the children and teens attending the conference. Physicians from the SWF clinical Centers of Excellence at several U.S. medical institutions will also be at the Conference to meet with the participants.
The MDRT Foundation of Park Ridge, Ill., was created in 1959 to provide MDRT members with a means to give back to their communities. Since its inception, the MDRT Foundation has donated $17.6 million in 63 countries around the world and all 50 U.S. states. The majority of these funds were raised by and from MDRT members. This year, the MDRT Foundation will award more than $1 million in grants to more than 1000 charities.
The MDRT Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the Million Dollar Round Table, the premier association of financial professionals. MDRT is an international, independent association of more than 35,000 (or less than one percent) of the world's best life insurance and financial services professionals from 476 companies and 76 nations and territories.
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