Heart to Heart International

At the close of the Cold War, Dr. Gary Morsch, a family physician from Olathe, Kansas, traveled with several other medical professionals to Russia to assess the state of patient care in the Soviet Union. The group witnessed a healthcare system on brink of collapse. Motivated by what he saw, Dr. Morsch challenged his local Rotary Club to help provide medicines and medical supplies to hospitals in Moscow. He had toured several first-rate facilities and met many talented physicians. But their pharmacies were empty and they had no way of providing their patients with life-saving medicines. Local collection drives soon spread and grew. Major pharmaceutical companies joined the effort by donating much-needed products. Even the U.S. government got involved by providing the largest Air Force cargo plane in its fleet to fly the medical aid to Russia. On May 22, 1992, the C-5A Galaxy aircraft landed in Moscow. The medical aid was distributed and patients began receiving the care they needed. A gift from the heart of America to the heart of Russia—the Heart to Heart Airlift—became a reality, because hundreds of volunteers and caring corporate partners joined together in an effort to help people in need. At the time, it was the largest volunteer airlift in U.S. history.