The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust Announces $10 Million in Grants to Three Projects in Israel

NEW YORK, June 8 /PRNewswire/ -- The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust today announced grants totaling more than $10.1 million to help fund three major projects in Israel.  The grants are as follows:

1. $4,265,747 for the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv, to help patients avoid post-surgery complications and to learn about the origins of inflammatory bowel disease.  The project will use real-time monitoring of the inflammatory process in recent surgical patients, and will obtain clinical data and laboratory markers that predict surgical complications and provide treatment options.

2. $3, 905,067 for the Weizmann Institute of Science, to bring a new panel of world-class researchers to focus on Crohn's disease in order to better understand the disorder and spur new treatments.  The grant will provide seed money for a wide-ranging set of scientific investigations to bring multi-disciplinary experts to the study of the disease.  The goal of the project is to obtain a greater understanding of the complex interplay of the human immune system, microbiology, and genetics in creating and fostering digestive diseases.

3. $2,000,000 for the benefit of the Zahal Disabled Veterans Organization, to help build a state-of-the-art center in Beersheva, Israel for rehabilitation and support services for disabled veterans and victims of terrorism.  The grant will help construct and equip the center in order to provide a supportive environment for rehabilitation and integration of  disabled veterans and victims of terrorism in southern Israel.  The center, whose total cost is $23.3 million, is scheduled to open in the fall of 2010.

The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, established in 1999, is administered by five trustees selected by Leona Helmsley as a continuation of Mr. and Mrs. Helmsley's generous giving through their lifetimes.

SOURCE The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust