When we think of leaving a legacy, we think of building a family, a successful career, or lifetime achievements, but few of us think about leaving the gift of life. Nearly 100,000 patients throughout the United States need an organ donation to survive. Kathy Masterson understands the impact that one person can have by donating an organ.
In 2000, Kathy's husband, Dick, suffered from kidney failure after a 35-year-long battle with diabetes. Shortly after moving to Orlando in 2002, Dick was given a new kidney through an anonymous donor at AdventHealth Transplant Institute. This organ donation would gift him nine more years of life.
After Dick's passing, friends from out of state inquired if there was a charity they could support in his honor. A friend of Kathy's introduced her to the GR8 to DON8 race, an organ and tissue donation awareness 5k/8k run that honors those who have received the gift of life and their generous donors.
When Kathy volunteered her first GR8 to DON8 race in 2012, she quickly realized "this was a message that needs to get out to more people," so she signed up to be a sponsor for the next three years.
Three years turned into ten years, beginning with a team of only seven participants to this year, a team of over one hundred participants across the country who raised over $10,000. “We focus on remembering family and friends and celebrating together the time we have.”
You can join Kathy, her team, and the many others who participated in the GR8 to DON8 5k/8k run by supporting vital education and care programs through the Susan Perkins Fund at OurLegacy. Give a gift today and leave a legacy for others and become an organ donor.
Support from our community, and people like you, make all the difference in the lives of transplant patients in Central Florida.
Give to the Susan Perkins Fund at OurLegacy
Learn How to Become an Organ Donor
