Donate Life Float in Rose Parade January 1st

One of my favorite things to do on New Year's Day is to sit back and relax with my feet up and watch the Rose Parade. I always look for the Donate Life Float and just by chance a few years ago I came across KTLA-TV from Los Angeles while flipping channels. KTLA takes us behind the scenes with close-ups of the floats and interviews with the designers and riders. They come on the air at 6 a.m. PST (9 a.m. EST) and continue with the parade starting at 8 a.m. PST (11 a.m. EST). Many cable companies and other providers carry KTLA as a super station. In my area Rogers Cable carries it on channel 344.

When people say "Yes" to organ, eye and tissue donation, New Life Rises, giving hope and healing to those in need of life-saving transplants. In Donate Life's seventh Rose Parade float entry, a phoenix, the mythical symbol of life coming out of death, rises into the sky, representing those who give life in their passing and the people whose lives are renewed by their gifts.

From a bed of nurturing flames, the majestic phoenix rises anew, its tail feathers adorned with 76 Floragraphs
– memorial portraits created with floral materials – depicting loved ones who gave life to those in need. The bird soars high above 24 Float riders – all transplant recipients, living donors, and family members of deceased donors – seated along a monument inspired by the National Donor Memorial's Wall of Names. A garden inspired by the memorial's Wall of Tears leads the float with 2,000 dedicated roses, each carrying a personal message of love, gratitude and hope to a donor, recipient or candidate for transplant.

More than 85 million Americans have said "Yes" to saving lives by enrolling with their state organ and tissue donor registries. Join them today by visiting Donate Life America at www.donatelife.net.

Coordinated by Donate Life America member OneLegacy, the Donate Life float is supported by nearly 60 official partners from across the nation, including organ and tissue recovery organizations, tissue banks, state donor registries, transplant centers and affiliated organizations.

Joining OneLegacy as top-level benefactors are Astellas Pharma US, Inc., a fifth-year sponsor of five float riders through the “Ride of a Lifetime” contest and supporter of 1,000 volunteer decorators; the American Association of Tissue Banks (AATB); the Dignity Memorial network, North America’s largest network of funeral, cremation and cemetery service providers and sponsor four floragraphs; Donate Life America; and UNOS and the National Donor Memorial. All float partners encourage parade viewers to save lives by registering in their states to be organ, eye and tissue donors and donating blood in their communities.

The Pasadena Tournament of Roses is a volunteer organization that annually hosts the Rose Parade and Rose Bowl Game® presented by Citi. The 121st Rose Parade will take place Friday, Jan. 1, 2010, at 8 a.m. (PST) featuring majestic floral floats, high-stepping equestrian units and spirited marching bands.

Following the Rose Parade, the 96th Rose Bowl Game presented by Citi will kick off at 2:10 p.m. and feature the No. 8 BCS-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes versus the No. 7 BCS-ranked Oregon Ducks in The Granddaddy of Them All®. The Rose Bowl Game will be broadcast exclusively on ABC and on ESPN

On Jan. 7, the Tournament of Roses will also host the No. 1 and No. 2 BCS-ranked teams in the 2010 Citi BCS National Championship Game. The Game will kick off at 5 p.m. (PST) from the historic Rose Bowl Stadium. For additional information about the Tournament of Roses® please visit the official website at http://www.tournamentofroses.com.

For more information about the Donate Life Rose Parade Float, visit the official float website at http://www.donatelifefloat.org.

“You Have the Power to Save Lives – Register to be an organ and tissue donor & Tell Your Loved Ones of Your Decision”

Register to be a donor in Ontario or Download Donor Cards from Trillium Gift of Life Network. NEW for Ontario: recycleMe.org - Learn The Ins & Outs Of Organ And Tissue Donation. Register Today! For other Canadian provinces click here

In the United States, be sure to find out how to register in your state at ShareYourLife.org or Download Donor Cards from OrganDonor.Gov

In Great Britain, register at NHS Organ Donor Register

In Australia, register at Australian Organ Donor Register

Your generosity can save up to eight lives with heart, kidneys, liver, lungs, pancreas and small intestine transplants. One tissue donor can help up to 100 other people by donating skin, corneas, bone, tendon, ligaments and heart valves

Has your life been saved by an organ transplant? "Pay it forward" and help spread the word about the need for organ donation - In the U.S. another person is added to the national transplant waiting list every 11 minutes and 18 people die each day waiting for an organ or tissue transplant.