Dear Mr. Grzegorz & Marzena Handzel, organizers, tennis players, quests and sponsors of the Handzel Open 12 Tennis Tournament,

 It was a great privilege to receive the donation of 4,000 USD from the Handzel Open 12 Tennis Tournament towards the Orawiec Cardiac Fund of the Polish American Medical Society. The entire donation will go towards the screening of cardiovascular risk factors in the Polish-American community in the Chicago metropolitan area, which will take place in August of this year.

Many people are surprised to learn that cardiovascular diseases continue to be the leading cause of death not only in the US, but in the world as well. In fact, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) and World Heart Federation (WHF), more people die from cardiovascular diseases than cancer, stroke and diabetes combined. These are truly alarming facts. Despite the great progress made in the field of cardiology, identifying the factors of heart disease continues to be a crucial aspect of preventing the devastating consequences of arteriosclerosis, coronary heart disease, cardiac infarctions (heart attacks) and cerebrovascular accidents (strokes).

The Orawiec Cardiac Fund was established to raise awareness of the risk factors among Polish-American community in the metropolitan Chicago area, to promote healthy lifestyle choices, and most importantly, to help those with no insurance and no resources for testing. The Orawiec Cardiac Fund has conducted screenings since 1996, and thousands have benefited from the program. Many of the attending people are having the screening tests done for the first time in their lives. An important aspect of these tests is educational: we want to help people better understand their personal risk for cardiovascular disease and to raise awareness of the risk factors that lead to heart disease.

I am proud to say that 100% of the donation goes directly towards the screenings, which are administered by Cardiac Fitness Corp. This organization provides executive summaries of the data and results of the tests, as well as valuable comparisons of how the outcomes of the tests compare to the norms in the U.S. versus the prevalence in the Polish populations. The Cardiac Screenings and the Handzel Open sponsorship are advertised in some of the most visible Polish media outlets, including:  Polish radio stations 1490, 1030 and 1080, as well as Polish Daily News and Tygodnik Podhalanski. I am able to provide this advertising personally. However, it is thanks to the many volunteers giving their time and passion towards this cause, that the entirety of the donation can go towards screening as many people as possible.

Too many of us have lost family, friends or loved ones and have personally felt the terrible pain caused by heart disease. Thanks to sponsors like Grzegorz and Marzena Handzel, it has been possible to conduct these invaluable screening tests, and in so doing, help save many lives.

I would like to sincerely thank Mr. Grzegorz & Marzena Handzel, the organizers, the tennis players and sponsors of the Handzel Open 12 Tennis Tournament, for their generous donation to the Orawiec Cardiac Fund.

 This is a wonderful opportunity to highlight the amazing organization and hard work it takes to put on a tennis tournament of this scale. The Handzel Open is the largest tennis tournament in the Polish community that allows not only casual, but also many professional tennis players to participate.

 I would like to congratulate all the winners, and I wish all the participants of the tournament lots of fun and many great games in the future!

Sincerely,

Bronisław Orawiec, MD, PhD, FACC, FCCP, FABI
Honorary President, Polish-American Medical Society
General physician, Polish Highlanders Alliance of America
5428 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Chicago, IL 60630
Tel. 773.594.1515
Fax: 773.594.1674
E-mail:
www.drorawiec.org