The Best of all Gifts

I was reading Moreena’s Blog over at ClubMom http://thewaitandwonder.clubmom.com/
and again find myself praying that a donor is located soon.

As I read her post, I smiled at the Gift of Life Logo which appears on her page and thought of my husband and my son. My husband was an organ donor, and my son has been a proud champion for the cause for a few years now.
Jona’s first project was at age 8, when he organized 3 other little boys in his Cub Scout group to join him handing out literature and signing people up to become donors at the sidewalk sales at our local mall. They worked with the local Gift of Life chapter and set up a very nice booth. They had rehearsed nice polite lines to get folks to listen, but really – most people don’t want to think about their own demise while out shopping for a new whatever. Jona found the hook to get people to stop and listen. He would walk up to each passerby, literature outstretched, and say “My Dad was an organ donor”. Eyes popped wide open. Mouths dropped practically to the floor. And suddenly people were stopping to listen to the small red-haired child. And signing up.
Jona was 10 when he did his second project. He decided to get to the parents through the children. He got permission to distribute pencils, rubber bracelets, coloring books, (and of course the sign-up forms!) promoting the Gift of Life at kindergarten round-up night. He wore a Gift of Life t-shirt with iron-on letters that proclaimed, “My Dad was an organ donor” boldly across the front. Oh, yeah, he got their attention!
When he joined a new Scout troop at 12, he quickly grew tired of explaining over and over again where his Dad was. He arranged to give a presentation at a meeting, and a notice was sent out asking all parents to attend with their sons. With well over 100 people in the room, Jona began with his now-standard line “My Dad was an organ donor” and went on to give quite a speech, the first half of which was all about Dad. Yep, made his mother cry. The second half stressed the need to become donors and a bunch of folks signed up that night. He was so proud!
Last year a teacher assigned the children to write to the local paper about an issue they believe in. Jona wrote to our local paper about – what else? – organ donation. He reworked his speech into a letter to the editor and was the only one from his class to have his letter published. Yeah, you guessed it – it began with the words “My Dad was an organ donor." (I framed it and hung it on the wall – he told me it was “such a Mom thing to do”).

So today I honor my husband and my son with this blog – and ask anyone reading to consider becoming a donor. If you need a reason why, well, please visit Moorena’s blog and look at her beautiful little girl.