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. This year's theme is Seize The Day as depicted in this image.

Donate Life's 2011 Rose Parade float entry soars with colorful kites that inspire people to Seize the Day and register as organ, eye and tissue donors.

Flying a kite is an opportunity seized to share laughter, sun, wind, and the visual beauty of the moment. Through their life-changing experiences, the families of organ and tissue donors, living donors, and recipients of life-saving transplants teach us all a profound lesson: to Seize the Day! and make the most of every moment to build dreams, friendships and memories with loved ones.

Colorful kites soar in the wind as donor families, living donors and transplant recipients enjoy a special moment and make new memories. The tails of the kites are adorned with memorial ‘floragraph’ portraits of deceased donors whose legacies lift the kites and the hopes of those in need of transplants. The float’s 24 float riders, led by three walkers, honor all donors and the everyday dreams they make possible through the gift of life. Thousands of organ, eye and tissue donors nationwide are memorialized with dedicated roses, each vial carrying a personal message of love, hope and remembrance.
Donate Life hopes millions of parade viewers and spectators are inspired to Seize the Day, spend time with their families, and join the nearly 90 million Americans who have registered as organ, eye and tissue donors on their state donor registries by visiting www.donatelife.net.

“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 at 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 or enhance the lives of up to fifty people with heart, kidneys, liver, lungs, pancreas and small intestine transplants (see allotransplantation). One tissue donor can help 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. Organs can save lives, corneas renew vision, and tissue may help to restore someone's ability to walk, run or move freely without pain. Life Begins with You