The following is announcement from The John Brockington Foundation for it's 9th Annual Pro Athletes For Life Gala. I can not tell you how thrilled I am to be attending this event and receiving the Circle of Honor Award. Many of you have read from my earlier blogs that this is the event in 2006 that made me realize..I wanted to donate a kidney. So it will be incredible to share in this event that will be focusing this year on Living Donor Ship! Since it's inception JBF has been striving for years to make people aware of how important it is to become an organ donor, something I have always felt passionately about as well. It's incredible that they are now including the importance of Living Donors as well. It just shows their dedication to finding ways to reduce the number of people waiting for a kidney.
The last month has been very busy for me working with numerous people who have contacted me that are either going to be donating a kidney, or are thinking about doing so. It has been such a pleasure to develop these relationships and to be part of the mentoring process. I have also been working Harvey Mysel of The Living Kidney Donors Network here in Chicago on workshops to help educate those who need a kidney to be pro active in finding a donor. One of the incredible individuals who I have had the honor to get to know is Angela Stimpson in New York. She is an altrusitic donor as I was and she has a fantastic blog that you should definitely take a look at: http://oksolo.blogspot.com/
Angela will be donating a kidney on September 22, 2010.
The challenge always remains to keep educating people on the idea of being a Living Donor. There is no question in my mind that this is imperative to lower the number of candidates waiting for a kidney. The average waiting time for a deceased donor kidney is five years. That means five years on dialysis. I respect that this is a very personal decision. It is not my mission to make anyone feel obligated to do so. It is my intention to continue to speak and educate people on the advantages of being a living donor, altruistic or not. According to the latest figures from the OPTN site there are now 86,000 people waiting for a kidney. That figure has risen from 84,900 back in April with an additional 1,100 in just four short months!
Friends, it’s that time of year again—to mark your calendar for Tuesday, October
5th. My foundation is hosting our 9th Annual Pro Athletes For Life Gala at the San Diego Hall of Champions in Balboa Park. This wine and hors d'oeuvre reception will feature music, silent and live auctions, and yes, the popular Celebrity Champagne Pour. Join members of the transplant community, sponsors, friends, and Pro Athletes for Life on Tuesday evening, October 5th in a special tribute to living donors, including Ann Lopez who donated to her husband George and our own Cara Yesawich, inspired to become an altruistic donor after attending a JBF Gala.
Ninth Annual Pro Athletes for Life Gala
Tuesday, October 5
6 PM—9 PM
Price: $75 per person, $125 per couple
San Diego Hall of Champions
Balboa Park
2131 pan American Plaza
San Diego, CA 92101
RSVP for tickets to 619 299-4426 or
visit our website www.johnbrockingtonfoundation.org
Please join us as a sponsor or guest to make this Ninth Annual Pro Athletes for Life gala one that we remember for bringing us together in difficult times and for the generous and loyal spirit of our friends.
Run Hard,
John Brockington
President
The John Brockington Foundation
619 299-4426
www.johnbrockingtonfoundation.org
Give the Gift of Life
www.donatelife.net
No comments:
Post a Comment