Donate Life Texas NASCAR Honorees

For Donate Life Texas and NASCAR driver Joey Gase, this weekend’s race is about more than a checkered flag and the roar of the crowd.  It’s about the people whose lives have been touched by organ, eye and tissue donation.  We remember the Donor Heroes who have given the gift of life to others in their passing.  We celebrate the transplant recipients who make each day of their second chance count.  And, we hope for The Call to come for those still on the transplant waiting list.

With that in mind, the Donate Life Texas, Joey Gase and ZAK Products are proud to announce the names and faces that will ride the track with Joey during this weekend’s races.  We encourage you to watch Donate Life Texas’ social media throughout the event for photos of the cars, Joey and his team and many of the Donor Families and Honorees.

       4558  TributeTrunk

Donate Life Texas #52 XFinity Car Honorees

Jammie Dee Allen, Waiting

Makayla Baker, Donate Life Friend

Nancy Bieberly, Living Donor to Robbie Gehling, Transplant Recipient

Michael B. Bovill, Donor Hero

Alex E. Cienfuegos, Donor Hero

Juan Contreras, Transplant Recipient & Donor Father of Celeste Contreras, Donor Hero to Laura T. Scheid, Transplant Recipient

Johnny Costarell, Transplant Recipient & Now Waiting

Cody Corker, Donor Hero

Jacob “Jake” Demler, Donor Hero

Mary Jo Gase, Donor Hero

Jimmy, Heart Donor Hero, 1991

Mickey & Melissa Johncox, Donate Life Texas Friend

Samantha Land, Waiting

Brittany Malone, Donor Hero

Bobby Wayne Nation, Donor Hero

Sue Needle, Transplant Recipient

Nick Owens, Passed Away Waiting

Maurice Vincent Powers, III, Donor Hero

Nathen Radosky, Donor Hero

Dylan “Deeder” Richardson, Donor Hero

Jordan Shaw, Transplant Recipient

Tanyeau M. Spears, Transplant Recipient

Gracie Sullivan, Donor Hero

Berta Teague, Transplant Recipient

Amanda Turnbull, Donor Family with her son, Gavin Carson, Transplant Recipient

Tony Warlow, Donor Hero

ZAK Products #32 Sprint Cup Car with Donate Life Texas

Mark Gipe, Donor Hero

 

May the stories of these Donate Life Texas Honorees inspire others to learn about the need for transplants and the importance of donor registration.  Donate Life Texas will host registration events at Texas Motor Speedway throughout the race weekend and invite you to stop by the Donate Life Texas tent on TMS Midway / Fan Experience Zone near Gate #2.  Click here to find out more about Joey’s special appearances.

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Joey Gase & NASCAR Appearances

Earlier this month, Donate Life Texas was proud to announce it’s partnership with NASCAR driver Joey Gase for the November 2015 race weekend at Texas Motor Speedway.  Since then, so many exciting plans have been developing that will allow race fans to meet Joey and see both the Donate Life Texas #52 XFinity Series car and the ZAK Products Sprint Cup Series car he will be racing.

Check here to find the appearance nearest you!

Joey Gase & The Donate Life Texas #52 XFinity Series Car

Watch as we unveil this car decked out in full DLT style in a special recognition of the support of the Texas Department of Public Safety at their brand new South Dallas Driver License Mega Center!  If you made a donation have an honoree’s name or photo on Joey’s car, this is the appearance for you!

Where:   Texas Department of Public Safety Driver License Mega Center – NW corner of I-35E and I-20 in South Dallas

[Get Driving Directions HERE]

When:   Thursday 11/5 – 11 am – 12: 30 pm

What:   Meet Joey, take pictures with the Donate Life Texas #52 car and even get an autograph!

Haven’t joined the donor registry yet – you can sign up to save lives right on the spot!

Joey Gase & the ZAK Products #32 Sprint Cup Series Car with Donate Life Texas

ZAK Products and Grapevine Ford Lincoln are honoring Joey’s deep commitment to Donate Life by hosting a special appearance and donor registration drive at the dealership.  Come check out the ZAK Products #32 Sprint Cup Car complete with a donor photo tribute with a local tie.  Click here for a flier!

Where:   Grapevine Ford Lincoln –  801 East State Highway 114, Grapevine, Texas 76051

When:    Thursday 11/5 – 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm

What:   Enjoy refreshments, meet Joey and take pics with the ZAK Products #32 Sprint Cup car! The first 50 people to join the donor registry or show the Hero’s Heart donor symbol on their drivers license will receive a complimentary Car Car Bucket filled with ZAK’s Professional Grade Goodies.

NEW!  At the Donate Life Texas Registration Area at the Texas Motor Speedway

Come meet Joey at the Donate Life Texas Tent in the TMS Midway / Fan Engagement Zone.  You can sign up or flash the Hero’s Heart on your license to snag some sweet swag! If you can’t make it when the Real Joey is there, you can snap a selfie with Flat Joey to show others your commitment to Donate Life!

Where:   Donate Life Texas Tent on the TMS Midway, near Gate 2

When:   Friday 11/6, 4:00 – 4:30 pm  and Sunday 11/8, 10:00 – 10:30 am

What:   Meet Joey, score an autograph & sign up to save lives, all in one place!

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Driving Donor Registration at NASCAR Races

The Donate Life Texas organ, eye and tissue donor registry is proud to announce its partnership with professional driver, Joey Gase, for the November NASCAR race weekend at Texas Motor Speedway (TMS).

Even with his 2015 top-5 Xfinity race finish at Talladega, Gase is more than just an up-and-coming NASCAR name.  Gase races for a cause that is very close to his heart – to promote organ, eye and tissue donation.

Gase was only 18 when his mother, Mary Jo, died of a brain aneurysm in 2011, and he gave consent to donate her organs and tissues.  He races in her honor and is now as passionate about promoting organ, eye and tissue donation as he is about racing.

“Thanks to Zak Products and Donate Life Texas, the Texas races will be a chance to speak to a new group of motorsport fans about the importance of organ, eye and tissue donation,” says Gase. “By sharing my mother’s story, I can show others how donation can transform a terrible loss into a lifesaving gift.”

Gase’s schedule for the NASCAR Xfinity O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge and the NASCAR Sprint Cup AAA Texas 500 race weekend includes several activities designed to inspire fans to join the Donate Life Texas donor registry.  He will also have an appearance at the new Driver License MegaCenter in South Dallas to thank Texas Department of Public Safety staff for the critical role they play in donor registration through the driver license and ID application processes.

Donate Life Texas will also host a donor registration drive throughout the race weekend at TMS and Gase will drop in to sign autographs and thank those signing up in person.  The registration drive will be staffed by Donate Life Texas volunteers, many of whom are transplant recipients or donor family members, like Gase. TMS will support the registration drive by encouraging its more than 2,000 employees to sport green Donate Life wristbands throughout the event.

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A Journey to Treasure

Donate Life Texas recently announced its 2016 delegates for the Donate Life Rose Parade Float.Monica & Marilyn

On New Year’s Day, Houston resident and kidney recipient, Monica Burnom will take the ride of her life down Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena, Calif. aboard the 2016 edition of the float, “Travel Life’s Journey,” Her mother, Marilyn, from the Katy area, will join her for this adventure of a lifetime.

For eight years, Marilyn has been an employee of the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), an organization that plays an essential role in making donor registration easy and convenient. Today, Marilyn is a dedicated champion for donor registration after her daughter, Monica, endured a five-year wait on the national waiting list for the kidney she needed to survive.

“Marilyn and Monica’s story gives us a unique opportunity to recognize the unparalleled contributions of the Texas Department of Public Safety,” said Suzy Miller, executive director of Donate Life Texas. “By representing Donate Life Texas at the Rose Parade, Marilyn and Monica can shine a light on how this work truly helps to save lives.”

The Donate Life Rose Parade float is an annual parade tradition to celebrate donation and its unique power to save, heal and transform lives. The float is accompanied each year by donor families, living donors and transplant recipients. It also is decorated with floral portraits, called floragraphs, of donors who have given the ultimate lifesaving gift of organ, eye and tissue donations.

Since seats on the Donate Life Rose Parade Float are reserved only for transplant recipients and donor family members, Monica will ride on the float while her mother watches proudly from the Donate Life section of the grandstands.

For more information, visit the 2016 Donate Life Rose Parade Float website.

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The Importance of Donation

In conjunction with National Donate Life Month, Donate Life America and Genentech have partnered to develop a PSA featuring PGA TOUR golfer and two-time heart transplant recipient Erik Compton. The PSA also includes Los Angeles news anchor and kidney donor Phillip Palmer, along with additional transplant athletes who have received organ transplants and are leading active, healthy lives today.

The key objective of the PSA is to raise awareness about the importance of organ donation.

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Donate Life Texas Day at the Capitol, 2015

On Monday, March 23, 2015, medical professionals, donor families, transplant patients and recipients, volunteers  and representatives of organ, eye and tissue procurement organizations gathered at the Texas capitol to help raise Texas legislators’ awareness of the rising need for transplants and how the official Donate Life Texas donor registry is helping save more lives than ever before.

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