Katie Caples Foundation Raising Awareness of Organ Donation on First Coast
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Katie Caples had big plans for her life.
The junior at Bishop Kenny was on the cross country team and was an honor roll student who loved to volunteer in the community.
"She was that kind of person, that was Katie," said Katie Caples' father, David Caples.
She was on her way home from a March of Dimes walk on April 18, 1998, when she was killed in a car crash.
But that would be just the beginning.
"The only silver lining in what was a very bad week was doing the organ donation," said Caples.
After her death, Caples' organs were donated to five different people. The next year, her parents, David and Susan Caples, started the Katie Caples Foundation.
"It's been a very positive experience, and out of that tragedy it really has turned around to be something we can feel real good about," said Caples.
The foundation has made presentations to 36,000 high school students about to get their driver's licenses.
Kelly Maguire, a recent graduate, heard the presentation when she was a sophomore at Bishop Kenny.
"Some people didn't really know about organ donation and what it does, and some people were a little iffy about it. But they told us what a good experience it can be...it can definitely save lives," said Maguire.
The Katie Ride for Life bike ride raised $300,000 in the last six years to fund the foundation's education programs.
David Caples said in her 17-year life, his daughter was already a hero to so many people. Now Caples and his wife and their foundation are picking up where Katie left off.
The foundation's partner in the student presentations is LifeQuest.
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