National Donor Family Quilt: Patches of Love (Photo: Jackie Johnson)
Statewide Legacy of Life Tour arrives in Wisconsin’s capitol city.
The Tour highlights Wisconsin as the host state for the 2010 games and recognizes transplant recipients who will be competing in the 2010 U.S. Transplant Games for Team Wisconsin.
Rachel Maske’s sister became an organ donor at the age of 32. Maske says the transplant games will be an opportunity to celebrate her sister Becky and her gifts. “Any time I have the chance to meet a recipient I think it makes my heart feel good. I get to see the positive outcome of what was such a horrible thing for our family.”
Maske says she’ll add a square panel in her sister’s memory to the national donor family quilt: Patches of Love. “The panels that make up the quilt travel the world to pay tribute to our loved ones and to raise awareness of donation.”
Trey Schwab is co-chair of the local transplant games committee. He says the games will help to highlight Wisconsin’s first online donor registry. Yes-I-will-Wisconsin.com launched on March 29 of this year. “We got off to a wonderful start. We’re gaining momentum now. We had a great sign-up through March and April through donate life month. We’re well over 16,000 folks signed up as we sit hear today.”
An expected 7,500 visitors from across the country will participate in the 2010 U.S. Transplant Games in Wisconsin. The Legacy Tour acts as a lead-in to the games, and features many events in communities across the state recognizing local transplant recipients, living donors and donor families.
A community 5K walk/run for organ, tissue and eye donation officially kicks off the games in Madison on Saturday, July 31. The games run through August 4.
The National Donor Family Quilt will be displayed in its entirety during the Games at the Monona Terrace Convention Center in Madison.