Donor Alliance Volunteer to Represent Colorado, Wyoming in 2024 Rose Parade
Rhonda will be aboard the OneLegacy Donate Life Rose Parade float , which is celebrating 21 years on the Rose Parade.
Today, Donor Alliance, the nonprofit organization saving and healing lives through organ and tissue donation and transplantation, hosted a send-off “rose” ceremony for its Advocate for Life volunteer, Rhonda Hill of Douglas, Wyoming. On New Year’s Day, Rhonda, a kidney, pancreas and bone recipient, will put a local face to the cause during the nationally televised 2024 Rose Parade. Rhonda will be aboard the OneLegacy Donate Life Rose Parade float, which is celebrating 21 years on the Rose Parade. The float is part of a national campaign to share the importance of organ, eye, and tissue donation with millions of people who either visit Pasadena or tune in to watch the Rose Parade every year from across the nation and around the world.
The 2024 Donate Life Rose Parade float, “Woven Together: The Dance of Life,” features a beautiful Butterfly Dancer wearing an impressive and intricate headdress. It showcases the culture of the Hopi, native to the American Southwest. The butterfly has long been a symbol of transformation, from caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly, and has come to symbolize the power of donation and transplantation. On the float and walking alongside it, Rhonda will be joined by donor families, living donors, and organ and tissue recipients from across the country, uniting them through the gift of life.
Before departing to Pasadena, Rhonda handed out roses this morning to her transplant care team at UCHealth in Aurora, Colorado. Each rose was a symbol of her appreciation for receiving the gift of life. When she was 17 years old, Rhonda was diagnosed with severe juvenile diabetes. Then in her 30s, she was put on dialysis as her kidneys began to fail. In October of 2000, Rhonda got the call she had been waiting 18 months for – someone she didn’t even know made an end-of-life decision that would give her life a second chance.
“I know my donor changed the lives of many others that same night in October of 2000 with her gifts,” said Rhonda. “I think of her and thank her every day. I’m grateful for this opportunity to honor her legacy on a national scale and provide hope to others waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant.”
Rhonda has been touched by donation in more ways than one. In 2022, her husband passed away and had made the decision to give the gift of life. Through her participation in the parade, Rhonda will have the opportunity to share her story as a recipient and as a donor family. Donor Alliance, which facilitates organ and tissue donation throughout Colorado and most of Wyoming, has sponsored advocate volunteers for the OneLegacy Donate Life Rose Parade float for more than a decade.
“Donor Alliance is proud to return to the Rose Parade in 2024 to share Rhonda’s remarkable story with viewers across the globe,” said Jennifer Prinz, president and CEO of Donor Alliance. “There are nearly 1,500 people in our region waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant. Each time Rhonda shares her story, it’s literally saving and healing more lives.”
Coloradans and Wyomingites can register to be an organ, eye, and tissue donor by saying Yes when they obtain or renew a driver license or state ID. People can also register anytime at DonateLifeColorado.org or DonateLifeWyoming.org.
The 2024 Rose Parade will start at 7 a.m. MST on January 1, 2024, and be broadcast live. Check local listings for more information.
About Donor Alliance
Donor Alliance is a non-profit organization dedicated to saving and healing lives through organ and tissue donation for transplantation in Colorado and most of Wyoming. As a federally designated organ procurement organization – one of 56 in the U.S. – Donor Alliance serves more than 6.3 million residents and more than 100 hospitals. Donor Alliance walks alongside the family during the organ recovery process and ensures their loved one’s gifts are safely received at transplant centers in a timely manner. Donor Alliance also facilitates tissue donation to save and heal more lives across our community.
In addition, the organization maintains partnerships with hospitals and manages the donor registries in the region, Donate Life Colorado and Donate Life Wyoming, which are symbols of the cause. Through Donate Life, Donor Alliance educates residents on the life-saving benefits of donation, inspiring them to register. For more information, please visit DonorAlliance.org.
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