Tim Tebow Foundation, CURE International to Build Children's Hospital in Philippines

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Nov. 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Tim Tebow Foundation and CURE International have announced plans to build a children's hospital in the Philippines -- the country where Tebow, the starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos and a Heisman Trophy winner at the University of Florida, was born.

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The Tebow CURE Hospital in Davao City will be a 30-bed surgical facility focusing primarily on orthopedics. The groundbreaking will be held in January 2012 and the hospital is expected to open in mid-2013.

This is the first project between the two organizations since they announced their partnership in October.  

"I was born in the Philippines and my parents have been missionaries to that area since 1985. The Philippines have always had a special place in my heart," Tebow said. "I'm excited to be a part of this hospital that will bring healing to thousands of children who would not otherwise have access to care."

The hospital, which is CURE's first in the Philippines and 12th worldwide, will be on the island of Mindanao, a particularly poor area of the Philippines.

"Throughout the world, 80 million children suffer every day with crippling conditions like clubfoot and spine deformities, conditions that are correctable with surgery," said Dr. Scott Harrison, the founder and president of CURE International. "We feel blessed that the Tim Tebow Foundation has chosen to partner with us to bring first-world quality care and spiritual healing to the children of the Philippines."  

The construction project is expected to cost $3 million, with donors from CURE and the Tebow Foundation sharing the costs. About one-third of the children treated at the hospital are expected to be charity cases.

The hospital will house a Timmy's Playroom, which will provide faith, hope and love to children before and after their surgeries.  It will be the Tim Tebow Foundation's first international playroom.

The Tim Tebow Foundation was created in January 2010. Its mission is to bring faith, hope and love to those needing a brighter day in their darkest hour of need. The foundation is accomplishing this mission through the building of playrooms in children's hospitals, supporting orphans worldwide and making "dreams come true" for children with life-threatening illnesses.  Please visit http://www.timtebowfoundation.org/ for more information.

CURE International heals the sick and proclaims the Kingdom of God. It is the largest provider of reconstructive surgery to disabled children in the emerging world. Since opening the doors of its first surgical teaching hospital in Kijabe, Kenya in 1998, CURE's focus on bringing healing to developing nations has resulted in more than 1.5 million patient visits and over 121,000 surgeries to correct physically disabling conditions. CURE has also trained more than 2,400 medical professionals, raising the standard of care in the countries where it operates.  Please visit http://cure.org/ for more information.

MEDIA CONTACTS  

Erik Dellenback
Executive Director
Tim Tebow Foundation
904.290.1015
erik@timtebowfoundation.org

Steve Yount
Account Executive
A. Larry Ross Communications
972.267.1111
[email protected]

SOURCE CURE International