The Donate Life Run/Walk Goes Virtual in 2021 To Continue Celebrating 19 Years of Inspiring Local Communities to Donate Life

Published 4 years ago via Business Wire

Live Opening Ceremony Streaming this Saturday, April 24 on Facebook and YouTube will Feature Grammy Award Winning Music Group All-4-One, ABC7 anchor Phillip Palmer, Elected City Officials and Participating Donor Family, Hospital and Recipient Teams

With the goal of engaging thousands of participants in Southern California and around the U.S. to share the importance of organ, eye and tissue donation while keeping everyone safe during the current pandemic, OneLegacy will host its second virtual Donate Life Run/Walk this Saturday, April 24 with a virtual opening ceremony that will stream LIVE on Facebook and YouTube.

Every year the Donate Life Run Walk gathers over 12,000 participants at California State University, Fullerton to celebrate the power of organ, eye and tissue donation and transplantation. Last year’s Donate Life Virtual Run/Walk gathered more than 2,000 participants from around the world, representing 33 states, 11 countries and seven continents.

ABC7’s news anchor Phillip Palmer will host the LIVE video streamed opening ceremony, including special appearances by Grammy Award winning music group All-4-One; Elected City and County officials; and organ, eye and tissue donation advocates, who will share their stories to inspire local communities to donate life.

A VIRTUAL EVENT FOR DONOR FAMILIES, RECIPIENTS AND DONATION ADVOCATES

For the 19th consecutive year, hundreds of donor family members will participate to honor the memory of their loved ones. More than 76 donor family teams will join nine hospital teams and more than 1,500 participants that include dozens of hospitals, organ, eye and tissue recipients, health and fitness enthusiasts and corporate and community groups, to celebrate the gift of life.

For team Live Like Miranda, this is the third year they participate in the Donate Life Run/Walk, and the second year of participating at a virtual event. They will get together at a local park this Saturday to honor the life and legacy of Miranda Araya. On January 14, 2018 Miranda was declared brain dead after being struck by a car while doing what she loved most, skateboarding. Through her generous donation, Miranda saved six lives. Her family and friends walk in her memory to honor the legacy she built in her short life. “Participating in this event has brought our family closer and helped us in our healing process,” said Alexandra, who is Miranda’s mom and the team’s captain.

The Virtual Donate Life Run/Walk is produced by OneLegacy, the largest organ procurement organization in the U.S., dedicated to saving lives through organ, eye, and tissue donation in seven Southern California counties.

“While it seems that the current pandemic is hopefully approaching an end, we wanted to exercise extreme caution and keep everyone safe by celebrating this year’s Donate Life Virtual Run/Walk,” said Tom Mone, CEO of OneLegacy. “We look forward to inspiring those who join us on social media, whether they belong to the communities we serve, or are joining us from cities across the U.S. to register as donors and help save the lives of over 100,000 people across the country who are currently waiting for a lifesaving transplant.”

All proceeds from the Virtual Donate Life Run/Walk benefit the OneLegacy Foundation, with a goal to enhance OneLegacy’s public education efforts to inspire others to donate life and conduct research studies to improve the lives of recipients and optimize the organ, eye and tissue recovery process.

The 2021 sponsors for OneLegacy’s Virtual Donate Life Run/Walk include LifeStream Blood Bank, Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers, Transplant Life Foundation, Wescom Foundation, Cedars Sinai, UCI Health, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Riverside University Health System, Century 21 Discovery, Loma Linda University Medical Center, Keck USC, Renal Support Network, Allen Lund and JJ’s Legacy.

For additional information and to register online to participate in this year’s Virtual Donate Life Run/Walk, visit DonateLifeRunWalk.org, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter and Instagram.

To register to become an organ, eye, and tissue donor, visit http://www.donatelifecalifornia.org/OneLegacy or http://www.doneVIDAcalifornia.org/OneLegacy.

About OneLegacy

OneLegacy is a nonprofit organization dedicated to saving lives through organ, eye and tissue donation in seven counties in Southern California: Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, Santa Barbara and Kern. It serves more than 200 hospitals, 10 transplant centers, a diverse population of nearly 20 million, donors and families across the region, and waiting recipients across the country. For more information, visit OneLegacy.org, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter and Instagram.

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