Hey Dudes! - Only six weeks into the new year and we have so much to share with you including the exciting action at Winter X Games and a recent Model UN event in Chicago to recruit Donor Dudes. We have a long list of of upcoming 2012 outreach programs schedule! Let’s get right to the news.

Don't forget that April is National Donate Life Month. What are you planning to celebrate life and share the message of donation? Email us at info@chrisklugfoundation.org and we will help you start planning!

Are you a fan of snacks? That's right, we're talkin' chips, popcorn, baked fries, etc. Our favorite snack company, Deep River Snacks , supports various non-profit organizations by highlighting a charity on every flavor of Deep River Snacks. They chose the Chris Klug Foundation to be featured on their new flavor, Aged Cheddar Horseradish! Be sure to grab a bag when you see it. They are delicious! Thanks to the team at Deep River Snacks for believing in our mission.

The Chris Klug Foundation is dedicated to promoting lifesaving organ donation and improving the quality of life for donors, donor families, organ transplant candidates and recipients.

Our foundation is here to help spread the organ donor message any way we can. Thank you for partnering with us to help those awaiting a second chance at life.

The Team at CKF

Check us out online for all the latest updates and info:

DONATE TO THE CHRIS KLUG FOUNDATION:

Please log on and consider a charitable donation to the Chris Klug Foundation, so we can continue our donor awareness outreach across the country. Every bit helps! Click here to donate

DONOR DUDES SHOUT OUTS!

Last week Carl King, a high school junior at Westfield High in Massachusetts, hosted his own Donor Dudes awareness event. Carl has a true passion for sports (including snowboarding and football) and is enthusiastically looking for ways to give back to his community. He was diagnosed with Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC) in 2009 and has been on the transplant waiting list since. After he was diagnosed his family, friends and community have pulled together for him in major ways. Carl deeply appreciates this support and it has motivated him to give back in return. The donor awareness event he hosted at a basketball game last week allowed Carl and his friends to speak with lots of people about the impact of organ donation. They also managed to register three new donors and collected donations that they will generously be donating to Donate Life New England. You rock, Carl!

RECENT EVENTS

ESPN Winter X Games, Aspen, CO

ESPN Winter X Games 16 was awesome! Perhaps you saw Colten Moore sling his 500lb snowmobile through the air for a gold medal, or watched Shaun White effortlessly sail through the superpipe and land a perfect score. Our Donor Dudes awareness table was set up in the middle of the action in the Team ESPN tent. 108,000 people attended Winter X Games this year, 45,000 on Saturday January 29, breaking the all-time winter X Games attendance record. From the second the venue opened on Thursday to closing time on Sunday, our booth was slammed! With the help of 33 all-star volunteers, we spoke to almost 4,000 excited spectators about organ & tissue donation and registered forty donors in Colorado and across the country. New to our booth this year was our new "Donor Dude" display! He loved being at X Games and teaching kids about the organs that can be donated to save lives. (see picture). A big thank you to artist, Greg Lipp, for creating him for us! The event was a huge success for us, a great way to kick off the new year. Thank you, everyone that volunteered and stopped by to say hi and support CKF.

Model United Nations, Chicago, IL

A new focus of our Donor Dudes program is to encourage students to found their own sustainable Donor Dudes club at their school. Our hope is that each club will host a donor drive each year. We went to Chicago at the beginning of this month for a Model United Nations conference. The Model UN is an experience that simulates real life problems facing our world and allows high school students to represent their assigned country’s position and work to resolve Global issues. Our foundation wanted to be there to meet these intelligent, motivated students and recruit them to start their own Donor Dudes club at their school. We had the pleasure of meeting several students we will be working with to make the new clubs happen!

USASA Northern Vermont Rail Series, Stowe Mtn Resort, VT

The USASA Northern Vermont Series has made it a point over the last few years to give back by creating awareness around issues that impact their communities. This year the Rail Jam at Stowe Mountain Resort highlighted the need for organ donation. Donate Life and the Chris Klug Foundation had a presence, and donors and recipients attended from the local area. The jam also honored organ donor Dylan Peters, a local rail riders who lost his life last year in a tragic car accident. Dylan was also honored for the lives he saved in the Rose Bowl Parade this January, when his face was one of the many heroes displayed on the Donate Life float.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Donor Drives!

On Monday, February 13 Aspen High School will be partnering with the local hospital to host a blood drive at the school. At the blood drive, local Donor Dudes students will be registering new organ & tissue donors. Beaverton High School near Portland, OR contacted us to share they will be doing something similar. Beaverton High School is hosting “Bucky’s Marrow-thon” on Valentines Day! During a popular girl’s basketball game, students, teachers and donor advocates will be registering new bone marrow, blood and organ & tissue donors. Donor Dude Bryan Myss will be representing CKF and providing the group with facts about donation. Keep up the great work everyone!

9Student Health Fair, Boulder, CO

Fairview High School is hosting their annual health fair on February 17. Our friend Virginia selected this event to host a Donor Dudes awareness table. It will be a great way to reach a lot of young minds. Thank you for doing this, Virginia. We can’t wait to hear about it and share pictures on our facebook page!

State DECA Championships, Colorado Springs, CO

The State DECA competition held at the Broadmore Hotel in Colorado Springs, CO is a great opportunity for us to recruit Donor Dudes. Our goal is to sign up 100 students eager to start their own Donor Dudes Club and make a difference for those awaiting a second chance.

Go Broncos! Boise, ID

Donor Dudes recently partnered with an upper level event planning class at Boise State University. A team of 6 students will be creating and planning their own Donor Dudes campus event in April. The date is currently TBD, but the ideas are brewing and it's going to be awesome!

Cherry Creek Wellness Summit, Denver, CO

If you are in the Denver area, mark your calendars for Saturday, April 14. CKF will be part of the 9Health Fair and Cherry Creek Wellness Summit. We are very grateful for this opportunity and to be part of an event that promotes staying healthy and living well.

GET INVOLVED AS A DONOR DUDE:

Need a school project? How about community volunteer hours? You can plan your own successful, LIFESAVING Donor Dudes event! We can help! CKF will provide cool event swag including stickers, donor cards, pins, as well as a ”HOW TO” guide to make your event a hit. Let us know how we can help you plan and pull off your donation activities. WE LOVE DONOR DUDES EVENTS! Share the news and photos with us and you will be featured in our newsletter.

Thank you for reading our update. Have a great day!

Jenny Dziura
Executive Director
Chris Klug Foundation
www.chrisklugfoundation.org
info@chrisklug.org
970.216.2511

Fact: One donor can save up to eight lives through organ donation and enhance more than 100 lives through tissue donation.

Fact: There are currently 113,006 people currently on the national transplant waiting list.

Fact: If you are sick or injured and admitted to the hospital, the number one priority is to save your life. Organ, eye and tissue donation can only be considered after you are deceased

Fact: Anyone can be a potential donor regardless of age, race, or medical history

Fact: All major religions in the United States support organ, eye and tissue donation and see it as the final act of love and generosity toward others.

These are some pretty eye-opening facts! Here is how you can do your part:

• Educate yourself and your friends on the facts about organ and tissue donation. Work to spread the word in a cool way at your school or in your community.
• Each state is different in terms of how you properly register to be a donor. LOG ON to find out what your state requires, and follow the necessary steps.
• Be sure to share your decision with your family, and encourage your friends to do the same.
• Together we can eliminate the wait!