Sign-Up On The North Carolina Donor Registry

North Carolina's new online registry is available. Sign up today by visiting https://www.donatelifenc.org/becomeadonor/.

Transplant Recipient Represents U.S. in Winter Olympics

Former Olympic medalist Chris Klug is set to compete in the Winter Olympics this February as a member of the U.S. snowboarding team. He took home a bronze medal in 2002 in the parallel giant slalom, only 19 months after receiving a life-saving liver transplant. Now, 37, Klug will represent the United States at the Olympics in Vancouver, Canada. He is living proof that not only do transplants work, but that the people who get them are able to live normal lives. Go Chris!!!

Speaking of Sports...

Mark your calendar for LifeShare's annual Collier Lilly Ride 4 Life. The date for this year's ride is Saturday, June 5th. As in previous years, the ride will kick off and end on the campus of Davidson College in the northern part of Mecklenburg County.

If you'll excuse the pun, members of the organizing committee are gearing up for the annual event, LifeShare's only fundraiser. Please tell your friends who cycle to plan to ride in the event this year. The fans who ride in it each year say it's a great ride. We offer a 25K, 50K and a 100K ride through the beautiful back-roads of Mecklenburg and surrounding counties. The ride is complete with SAG support and a free lunch.

This is the seventh year that the bike ride has been sponsored in honor Collier Cobb Lilly. Collier was a Davidson College student the summer that he died in a tragic accident and became a donor. His friends set-up the event as a means of keeping his memory alive and of supporting organ and tissue donation.

Given the economy, we definitely need more sponsors. Please let us know about any companies, large and small, that you think would be interested so that someone from the committee can contact them. All of the proceeds from the bike ride support LifeShare's educational projects.

Going Green!

In an effort to save trees and money, LifeShare is going green. With the release of the spring newsletter in late March, we would like to encourage more people to read it online. It's been posted on our web site for years but starting in April, we are going to send an e-mail alert to anyone who is interested in reading it online.

If you would like to have your name added to our address book, please e-mail your address to Lifeshare@carolinas.org. We are always interested in making the newsletter more informative and meaningful to our subscribers. If you have story ideas or if you would like to submit an article, please send it to Debbie Gibbs at dgibbs@carolinas.org.

Start Planning Now for Donate Life Month

As is our tradition, LifeShare will host several public activities to highlight the importance of signing-up to be an organ and tissue donor during April, National Donate Life Month. You are invited and if you'd like, you can plan one of your own.

If you belong to a school, church or civic group, consider inviting a member of our Speaker's Bureau to be the guest speaker at your April meeting. You can also promote donor registrations through your workplace. Information on the WorkPlace Partnership program can be found by clicking on the icon above and then going to turn-key materials. If you have other ideas, please let us know.

The idea is to increase the number of people who say yes to donation at the DMV or the online donor registry (www.donatelifenc.org). Visit our web site and our Facebook page for details of more programs as they become available.

Follow Lifeshare On Facebook

Don't forget about LifeShare's Facebook page. There, you'll find photos from several recent events, including the Big Assist and the volunteer training session in Asheville. Feel free to post your own message in support of donation and to share it with your friends and family. We're always looking for new friends. See you online!