This past Saturday, May 1, over 7,000 people from all over Southern California rallied for the 8th Annual Donate Life Run/Walk event to support organ and tissue donation. The all-morning event, which drew big names such as Fullerton Mayor Don Bankhead and ABC
Morning Anchor Phillip Palmer, was held to raise awareness for the process of organ donation and its affect on the many thousands of people who give and receive organ donations each year.
The Cal State Fullerton campus was packed with a mix of runners, pets and vendors who came out alongside family and friends to walk a one or five kilometer route around the school, many of those people packed together in donor teams to remind others of those they’ve loved and lost.
Bethany Vogel, a donor team captain and tissue recipient, gathered a group of 41 friends and family members to honor her late husband, Erich Vogel, who passed away late last year. Also in attendance were Erich’s brother, son and mother, who wore his picture on the backs of their running t-shirts in his memory.
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“When I started to gather a team together, what I thought would be 10 or 12 turned out to be 41 people,” Vogel said. “It’s amazing.”
Vogel’s team was one of 155 that formed to participate in the event.
Vogel has the unique position of being a family member of a donor and also a recipient. She was given knee tissue from an organ donor, which allowed her to be able to participate in the Donate Life Run/Walk.
“I’ve been on both sides of it (organ donation),” Vogel said. “A donor gave me the knee tissue that allowed me to walk in this event. You check that donor box on your license, and you don’t realize what a positive effect it has in real life.”
The opening ceremonies for the Donate Life festival included emotional tributes from family members, donors and recipients.
Kathleen Hostert, a CSUF alumna, founded the Donate Life Run/Walk after Hostert donated a kidney to her husband Craig more than 11 years ago, inspiring them to get involved in the fight for organ and tissue donation.
“I probably wouldn’t be standing here today if it wasn’t for the wonderful miracle of organ transplant,” Craig Hostert told the crowd during the opening ceremony. “I sat on the transplant waiting list for almost three years. I didn’t get a call, so my wife stepped forward and her kidney’s been sitting on my left side for the past 12 years.”
But Hostert noted that his story was not unique.
Other speakers followed, including a man who tearfully thanked his niece on stage for her kidney donation that allowed him to see his daughter’s school performance for the first time.
Phillip Palmer, ABC’s morning anchor, came on stage to recount his experiences as an organ donor to a close friend.
“Through pain, they gave life. And it’s so wonderful to be here with so many people who feel this and who celebrate life.”
Mayor Don Bankhead welcomed and thanked the thousands who turned out in Fullerton for the event.
“This has been been one of the greatest groups that I’ve ever seen in the City of Fullerton,” Bankhead said. “I attend so many functions that I didn’t really have any interest until (the Hosterts) told me their story. I realized then that Donate Life was one of the best projects our whole nation has.”
After the opening ceremonies, donor family members and transplant recipients knelt by large white baskets and released live doves into the air while the Grammy award-winning pop/R&B group All-4-One sang an acapella version of a song inspired by the Hosterts. After the doves flew off into the sky, Phillip Palmer walked to the center of the quad to light the Flame of Life, a small lamp that symbolizes the act of donation and honors the memories of donors while inspiring others to donate life. After the flame was lit, the crowd assembled at the starting line, with eager runners leading the group as the run/walk began. At the conclusion of the run/walk, families gathered to enjoy the rest of the beautiful sunny morning with local radio stations and food vendors providing entertainment and lunch for all the participants involved.
Other speakers followed, including a man who tearfully thanked his niece for her kidney donation that allowed him to see his daughter’s school performance for the first time.
Phillip Palmer came on stage to recount his experiences as an organ donor to a close friend.
“Through pain, they gave life. And it’s so wonderful to be here with so many people who feel this and who celebrate life,” Palmer said.
Mayor Don Bankhead welcomed and thanked the thousands who turned out in Fullerton for the event.
“This has been been one of the greatest groups that I’ve ever seen in the City of Fullerton,” Bankhead said. “I attend so many functions that I didn’t really have any interest until (the Hosterts) told me their story. I realized then that Donate Life was one of the best projects our whole nation has.”
After the opening ceremonies, donor family members and transplant recipients knelt by large white baskets and released live doves into the air while the Grammy award-winning pop/R&B group All-4-One sang an acapella version of a song inspired by the Hosterts.
After the doves flew off into the sky, Palmer walked to the center of the quad to light the Flame of Life, a small lamp that symbolizes the act of donation and honors the memories of donors while inspiring others to donate life. After the flame was lit, the crowd assembled at the starting line, with eager runners leading the group as the run/walk began.
At the conclusion of the run/walk, families gathered to enjoy the rest of the beautiful sunny morning with local radio stations and food vendors providing entertainment and lunch for all the participants.
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