Dear Colleague:

The American Vascular Association® (AVA), the Foundation of the Society for Vascular Surgery®, advances vascular surgery as a unique and independent specialty. If you have been a supporter in the past, I hope you will contribute again this year. If you have never supported the AVA, I hope you will join your colleagues in this worthy cause. 

I support AVA myself because I see positive results for the specialty of vascular surgery:

• The partnership with the NIH on career development awards for young researchers raises the visibility of vascular surgery in a field often dominated by non-surgeons.
• The young researchers who receive these awards go on to make significant contributions to the scientific advancement of vascular surgery.

The Open the Pathway Campaign, which concluded this past year, helped AVA by securing five-year commitments of support. The yearly pledge payments, however, do not fully cover the annual expense of more than $700,000 in grants made by AVA. Annual contributions are still essential to continuing the Foundation’s good work.

I hope you will join me in supporting AVA by making a tax-deductible contribution this fall. AVA welcomes annual giving, gifts of stock and planned giving from your estate.  For your convenience, a donation form is included with this letter.

Sincerely,
 
G. Patrick Clagett, MD
AVA Chair

The AVA, the charitable foundation of the Society for Vascular Surgery, seeks to reduce death and disability related to vascular disease through research and education. It serves as a grant-making resource that is proactively generating support for innovative education, basic and clinical research, and progressive initiatives that promote the value and relevance of the vascular surgeon.