This past Tuesday I participated in another event, with the focus being organ donation/transplant awareness. According to http://www.beadonor.ca, only 25% of Ontarians are registered to be organ donors. 1 organ donor can save up to 8 lives, and save/dramatically improve the lives of 50 additional people. We had to get the word out.
We met up at a school in the Dufferin and St. Clair area where my Dad’s boss gave some encouraging words of thanks to all of the wonderful students who came out to support the cause. They all had signs and such, and it was amazing. After that, it was time to light the torch and start the walk.
While my brother and a few others walked, my Dad drove the truck and I spoke through the loud speaker, stating facts about organ donation as well as directing people to visit http://www.beadonor.ca as well as http://www.torchoflife.com. to those on the street on that beautiful day. It was great, because as we passed by different schools, tons and tons of students lined the sidewalks, cheering, clapping, and holding signs. They high-fived the walkers as the walked by. It was simply wonderful.
We ended up at City Hall where I spoke briefly of my experience both before and after my kidney transplant. After that, the walk continued to Toronto General Hospital, then to Queens Park. It was a wonderful event. I hope that when the next event comes, I’ll be able to speak a bit more about my experiences as well as the importance of organ and tissue donation.
Below are some pictures and video of the event 🙂
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| Words From George Marcello |
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| Myself, Papa, Khaled, the boss, big bro. and, of course, the torch of life! |
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| Walking with the Police bike escort |
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| What a turnout! That kid near the middle with the blue striped shirt giving me the thumbs out was soo awesome! |
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| More waves and kudos from the students |
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| Another awesome reception from another school |
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| How awesome are these kids?!? |
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| City Hall with some students that joined our walk along the way |
Something else cool is the fact that I tweeted this:
And got this response from Trillium Gift of life (@TrilliumGift) even though I didn’t mention them in my tweet. Is was pretty rad 🙂
Lastly, here’s a short clip of some of the students that met us outside during out walk. It was soo amazing, honestly. The horn sound in the background is my Dad using the truck’s siren thing. 🙂
View Comments (1)
How amazing that you got to participate in an event like this. It must have been such a cool feeling. You look great!