Illinois Mom Turning Lemons into Lemonade to Honor Son

Jill Zuleg experienced every parent's worst nightmare in the fall of 2010 when her son, Kyle, tragically perished in a horrible accident. While on a family camping trip, a large tree branch fell on Kyle while he was playing a game in the woods. However, in the pain of losing her son, Jill found the motivation to make a difference and turn something bad into something good.

Family camping (Photo credit: Wikipedia - PLEASE NOTE that photo is NOT of the the Zuleg family. It is included here for illustration purposes only.)

Kyle was an organ donor who donated seven organs to five recipients. After his death, Jill formed the Kyle Zuleg Foundation. The organization gives memorial scholarships and comfort blankets to the families of organ donors. In fact, the Kyle Zuleg Foundation to date has given out 15 scholarships to high school students helping them to attain their dream of a college education. The comfort blankets the foundation distributes are embroidered with a special message that says "Forever In Our Hearts."

Recently, Jill was one of only five people nationwide honored with the "Inspired Comfort Award" by Cherokee Uniform Company, makers of medical apparel. Realizing that after her son's tragic death she had a choice to make, Jill said, "I had to choose to move forward and take this horrible, horrible tragedy, which I cannot change, and turn it into something positive." She has done just that.

Like Jill, you can make lemonade out of lemons and turn a tragedy into something good. Just visit the website for the Tennessee Organ Donation Foundation, Inc. at www.SaveLivesTN.org by clicking here and register to be an organ and tissue donor.

Read more : article on ChicagoTribune.com titled "Woman Honored for Work Promoting Organ Donation"

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• National Organ Donor Day (cartridgeworldcampcreek.wordpress.com)

The Benefits of Donating Life

The video embedded below explains the positives of organ and tissue donation from both the viewpoint of a donor family and an organ transplant recipient. It's a very powerful video that can also be watched by clicking here.



Read more - wsls.com article titled "Local Families Stress Importance of Organ Donors"

Tennessee Organ Donation Foundation, Inc. Now Open

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TENNESSEE ORGAN DONATION FOUNDATION, INC.

AIMS TO EDUCATE

New nonprofit hopes to increase number of registered donors in Tennessee

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Mt. Juliet resident Johnny Black has formed the Tennessee Organ Donation Foundation, Inc., a new nonprofit organization, whose mission is to educate Tennesseans about the importance of organ and tissue donation and to increase the number of registered donors.

“We want people to know that organ and tissue donation is not about death, but rather about life,” said Black, a heart recipient and Executive Director of the Tennessee Organ Donation Foundation, Inc. “Five years ago, I could have been a statistic – one of the 19 Americans who die each day waiting on a life-saving organ transplant. However, my life was saved because a man I had never met, named Kent, cared enough to register as an organ and tissue donor.”

Black, who lives in Mount Juliet, founded the organization in Nov. 2011 because he perceived a great need to improve public education and awareness about organ and tissue donation in his home state of Tennessee. The Foundation’s Board of Directors is comprised solely of members of the transplant community, including an organ recipient (Black), a donor family member, Doris Gray, and a living donor, George Blank. The Board’s unique makeup ensures that the organization will always have the best interests of people in need of transplants as its number one priority. Each Board member is personally invested in the cause of organ and tissue donation because of his/her own experience with its life-saving and life-improving qualities.

The organization plans to hold various events in Davidson and surrounding counties and will distribute informational literature, answer questions about organ and tissue donation, and convince more Tennesseans to register as organ and tissue donors. In addition, the Foundation plans to hold speaking engagements in the area in order to share the personal stories of organ and tissue recipients and donors and their family members.

For more information about the Tennessee Organ Donation Foundation, Inc. and to learn how to register as an organ and tissue donor, please visit www.SaveLivesTN.org.

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