April is Donate Life Month. Well, really – at LifeLink, every month is Donate Life Month. But April is nationally recognized as a time to remember those individuals who, as organ, tissue and eye donors, give the Gift of Life through transplantation for patients in need; to celebrate those individuals who have received lifesaving transplants they needed; to think of the more than 121,000 people in the United States who are still waiting for a transplant, and the hundreds of thousands more who could benefit from tissue donation. During April, we put extra effort into sharing the message of donation with the public, through media outreach, letters to the editor, special events and social media, and we also take time to focus internally on our mission of saving lives through organ and tissue donation.
LifeLink, which was recently named among top workplaces in Tampa Bay for 2016 by the Tampa Bay Times, is filled with employees who feel passionate about our mission of saving lives through organ and tissue donation, and we pause from the daily hustle and bustle each April to reflect on how we each play a part in that mission. Accountants, assistants, information systems employees, education staff and clinical staff – all levels from senior leadership down – know our role is critical. Every grieving family supported, every transplant made possible, happens thanks to the efforts of each LifeLink employee having done their part.
April 15th was Blue & Green Day, which serves as a visual reminder of the Donate Life message and LifeLink staff came together in true style, not only to wear their best blue and green attire, but to pay tribute to the individuals and families we have served, and the patients we helped to save. We dress up, we raise flags, we hear speakers share the stories that make us so passionate about our work; we have a treat or two. And, we feel proud to be a part of something so much larger than ourselves, where it matters that we come to work each day because our bottom line is not about money, but something far beyond measurable value – Life.
LifeLink of Puerto celebrated Blue & Green Day with more than 20 hospital based events, including a visit to Schneider Memorial Hospital in St. Thomas, below.
Above, from left: Meredith Weaver, Melvin Weaver Consulting; Kathy Lilly, Executive Director/Sr. Vice President with LifeLInk; Sadria Strong, donor family member; and Joe (heart recipient) & Vicky Persichetti with a Resolution presented by the Georgia legislature for Donate Life Month. Below: Butterflies adorned the LifeLink of Georgia lawn in honor of organ and tissue donors.
Above: Sadria Strong, donor family member; and Joe Persichetti, heart recipient, raise the Donate Life flag on Blue & Green Day. Below: LifeLink of Florida staff placed ornaments in remembrance of organ and tissue donors on lighted trees, for display throughout April at the LifeLink headquarters building in Tampa.
Above: LifeLink Foundation staff participated in a Blue & Green themed photo booth on Blue & Green day at the Foundation Headquarters in Tampa. Below: Christine Daniels, a donor mom, shared her donation experience with staff on Blue & Green Day.