April 24, 2007 - Toronto, ON – Award -winning Canadian Band Shaye with special guest Tom Cochrane will join Trillium Gift of Life Network to play “A very special concert” for patients on the waiting list and launch their Celebrity Campaign Poster tonight.
“We are so excited and proud to have such a great Canadian Band working with us,” said Frank Markel, President and CEO of TGLN. “These women are really committed to helping us save more lives. When they heard that there were over 1700 people on the waiting list, they wanted to do something to ease that pain. And the result was this concert. I want to thank Shaye and their special guest Tom Cochrane so much for their help and their dedication to organ and tissue donation – this concert and this partnership is going to be terrific.”
Shaye, comprised of Kim Stockwood, Damhnait Doyle and Tara MacLean approached TGLN after the launch of the Celebrity Awareness Campaign in August 2006 to get involved.
Shaye is named after Tara's sister who died when the group was just getting together 5 years ago. She was denied the honour of donating her organs because they didn't locate next of kin in time. Damhnait first witnessed the incredible gift of organ donation when close family friend Kevin Lewis Jr. successfully received a double lung transplant almost ten years ago and again five years later when his brother Chad was given a pair of lungs. Chad didn't make it, but he was given the best shot in the world, one we all deserve. Tom Cochrane was pleased to be a part this special event as it is an issue that is also close to his family's heart.
"This issue will inevitably touch us all. We feel it is an extraordinary privilege to play this concert. Life is about hope and living moment to moment and this is something these people know so well. We, along with our dear friend Tom Cochrane, just want to give them a night to remember, so they know we are thinking of them and fighting for them."
Attendees at the concert will be treated to an hour-long set hosted by Seamus O’Regan, co-host of Canada AM and will form Toronto’s living green ribbon for the week. Other Green Ribbons will be formed in Sudbury, Guelph, London, Hamilton, Ottawa, Kingston, Renfrew, Sarnia, Thunder Bay and Windsor in the days to follow.
Today in Ontario, 1748 patients are on the waiting list. Of those, 1086 are men, 632 are women and 30 of those patients are children.
“A band like Shaye can make a difference. This concert and the poster for the campaign will go a long way to reaching people. It’s important that every person in this province, in this country knows that each one of them has the power in them to help save a life. It’s as easy as having a conversation with your loved ones about your wishes. Please, sign your card and speak to your family today.”
National Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Week runs from April 22-29
For more details on National Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Week events, or for local waiting list numbers please go to Trillium Gift of Life or call 416.363.4001 or toll free 1-800-263-2833.
“You Have the Power to Save Lives – Sign Your Donor Card & Tell Your Loved Ones of YourDecision”
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