LONG BEACH - From
helping women and children to donating organs, Janine Limas Hageman,
Stacy Kelly and Debbie Bickerstaff each make a difference in their own
way.
The three women - all described as selfless - are finalists
for the community service category of the Press-Telegram's Amazing Women
Awards 2012.
The winners in each of six categories will be announced Sept. 12 during an awards dinner.
Kelly, who became an organ donor at 16, didn't think twice about donating an organ when her father needed a kidney.
He had supported her throughout her life, including a period when she was abused. Now it was time to give to him, she said.
"My father always believed in me when I did not believe in myself. With his strength and guidance in life, I overcame my struggles," she said.
So in 2009, when her father was diagnosed with renal failure, she and her family began to test among themselves to find a donor match.
"I knew I had to be the one that gave my dad the kidney, because it would be the ultimate gift I could give to a man, who not only created my life, but who worked so hard in giving me the best life a daughter could have, even when I was still going through so many struggles," she said.
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