April 27th at Delaware Park
April is Donate Life Month.
We invited our donor families to help us plant in our memorial garden to honor their loved ones, who were organ, eye or tissue donors.
Several donor families came out to plant shrubs in the Donate Life Garden in Delaware Park in Buffalo. The sun was shining on us, as we enjoyed the weather, planting and company.
Thanks to everyone who came out to help us celebrate life!
Unyts would like to thank Volkswagon of Orchard Park for being our Donate Life partner for the month of April. Volkswagon of Orchard Park donated $25 gas cards to our first 100 blood donors.
Our blood donors wanted to show their appreciation to Volkswagon, so they sent these cards to the folks at VW of Orchard Park.
Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, with Donate Life Club students
Donate Life Club students from City Honors, Emerson and South Park High School went to Buffalo City Hall for Lobby Day on Monday, April 22nd. The students served as great ambassadors of the Donate Life mission. They advocated to common council members, explaining the importance of signing the NY State Donate Life Registry. The students even challenged Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown to host a blood drive and collect over 86 units of blood (to beat the top collecting school, South Park) Mayor Brown says he’s up for the challenge!
South District Council Member Christopher Scanlon, with Donate Life Club students
Fillmore District Council Member David Franczyk, along with Donate Life Club Students
The following blog was written by: Jamal Hamideh, South Park High School
Monday April 21, I attended the Unyts advocacy program where representatives from the company, myself and other students from various high schools such as Emerson and City Honors went to City Hall. We spoke to council members about the Donate Life program. We educated them of the benefits of organ, tissue and blood donations. It was a great learning experience for me and my peers and I feel very lucky to have been able to attend such an event.
We began our tour around the whole building including the observation deck on the 25th floor. I was stoked to meet mayor Byron Brown, as well as take photos with him and several other council members. At first I was very nervous to speak in front of people of such importance, but after a few tries I gained confidence after realizing that they’re normal people. We also gave them facts about how important it is to donate blood with Unyts, because it all stays local to save lives here in Western New York. Unyts saves hospitals millions of dollars on blood. We stressed the importance of city representatives to participate in spreading awareness and participating.
Overall, it was a great experience and I feel very proud to be a part of the whole program. Unyts is a very wonderful organization and is very active in the whole community of Western New York. Being there to advocate for Donate Life was a very beneficial experience for me, because I learned how the local political system operates, and the importance of every single person in that building. . Our group gave city hall and everybody in it a challenge, to match South Park’s blood donation rate of an average of 86 doners at each blood drive. The challenge was zealously accepted!
Congratulations to Stacy Jo Dierolf for winning the signed Hodgson Sabres Jersey!
Stacy was randomly selected out of everyone who posted their Blue & Green Day pictures to our Facebook page. Thank you to everyone who participated, showing your support of Unyts and our mission to raise awareness of organ, eye, tissue & blood donation!
You can see everyone who participate in our Blue & Green Day Photo Album on Facebook!
Hundreds of party goers came out to celebrate life at Unyts’ 2nd annual Bucket List Bash. There were enough activities to keep you crossing off that bucket list all night long. It started with the red carpet at the entrance to the Statler Golden Ballroom. The crowd enjoyed food and drinks donated by some of WNY’s best restaurants. 
Whether you wanted to get a tattoo, get your fortune told or learn to belly dance, you could do it all at the Bucket List Bash. Sabres fans had the chance to “pass the puck” with Sabres legend Danny Gare. For those seeking something more adventureous, the bungee run allowed party goers to work up a sweat and engage in a little friendly competition at the same time.
We couldn’t have done it without our generous sponsors for the Bucket List Bash. Thanks so much!
check out our media coverage:
Unyts would like to congratulate the winners of the Donate Life Club poster contest.
It was close, but we were so impressed by the students of East Aurora High School. Congrats to the Donate Life Club for helping us spread the important message of Organ, Eye, Tissue and Blood donation here in WNY!
March 25, 2013
April is Donate Life Month. Unyts and ECMC are celebrating a great partnership when it comes to organ transplantation. The Regional Center of Excellence for Transplantation & Kidney Care at ECMC is a state-of-the-art facility dedicated to complete patient care. Unyts is WNY’s only organ, eye, tissue and community blood center.
It’s a time to remind the community how important it is to sign the organ donor registry. Around 800 people here in WNY are waiting for lifesaving organs today. Around 118 people are added to the nation’s transplant waiting list a day-that’s 1 every 10 minutes.
You have the power to be someone’s hero! During Donate Life month, sign the organ donor registry!
We’d like to take the time to give a big shout out to our friends at the Hard Rock Cafe in Niagara Falls, USA. Over the course of the past few months , the restaurant has raised over $1,000 in sales of its’ Hard Rock collectable pin (pictured above). Hard Rock was our community partner in April, donating gift cards to blood donors. They even sponsored a blood drive during donate life month (April).
The folks at Hard Rock even donated cookies for our Bucket List Bash at the Statler in April as well as the Donate Life Club Celebration at the Buffalo Bisons game in May.
We appreciate everything they do for us, and just wanted to say “thanks”, for helping us save and enhance lives here in Western New York!
*If you’d like to pick up a pin, stop by the Hard Rock Cafe in Niagara Falls, USA. They are on sale through 2012.
Laurie’s Story
We’re continuing to share personal stories about organ donation. The stories are submitted by families who have worked closely with Unyts following the death of a loved one. Take a few minutes to read this very personal story of a parents love for their child and the gift of life that she gave to others…
On January 12, 2005, our 24 year old daughter Laurie, choked on a meatball while eating dinner. Our attempts at the Heimlich maneuver were unsuccessful, as were attempts by ambulance personnel. The obstruction was finally removed with forceps in the hospital emergency room. Laurie had been without oxygen for approximately twenty minutes and was left with only minimal brain stem activity. She was put on life support and six days later, on January 18th, she was declared brain dead. We were presented with many difficult decisions in those six days, but the easiest decision we had to make was to donate her organs.
Laurie was born with Down Syndrome and for 24 years, our lives had revolved around her. Everyone who met her instantly fell in love with her, and we loved her more than life itself. We couldn’t imagine life without her. By donating her organs, she wouldn’t just be…gone. She would live on in five people. That is still what gets us up in the morning and through each day without her. We still miss her terribly, but are consoled that she saved the lives of five people; that she was a hero.
Laurie’s Family
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