New donor record
Donate Life Florida, a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering the public to save and enhance lives through organ, tissue and eye donation, announced a new donor record.
Ten million Floridians have signed up as donors through Florida’s Joshua Abbott Organ and Tissue Donor Registry, the third largest in the nation.
The strength of Florida’s donor registry is due in great part to the work of the Florida Department of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles and Florida tax collector offices, where residents completing driver license applications can sign up.
Because of the partnership, 95 percent of the state’s 10 million registered organ donors have come through the state’s tax collectors and DHSMV.
Since the registry was established in 1997, donors who had registered prior to death made possible nearly 37,000 life-saving transplant surgeries in the state. Donors helped even more through tissue donation.
To learn more, visit DonateLifeFlorida.org.
Lauren’s Kids charity
Lauren’s Kids, a statewide organization to prevent childhood sexual abuse through education and awareness, will be the Pasco County Tax Collector’s charity of the month.
Individuals who have vehicle registrations coming due in May can trade in existing license plates for a Lauren’s Kids specialty plate. The tags also may be purchased for newly registered vehicles.
Those that purchase the specialty tag will be entered into a drawing for a gift card.
Cash donations also will be accepted at any of the five tax collector offices.
For information, call Greg Giordano at (727) 847-8179, or visit PascoTaxes.com.
For information on the nonprofit, visit LaurensKids.org.
Treadmill challenge
The Tampa Metropolitan Area YMCA was the winner in the Treadmill Tuesday Tie-Breaker, an annual competition meant to inspire community members to become more physically active and adopt healthier lifestyles.
The total distance and number of local participants for the Tampa YMCA were: Bob Sierra North Tampa YMCA, 281 participants, 684.81 miles; Dade City Family YMCA, 46 participants, 75.28 miles; East Pasco Family YMCA, 131 participants, 224.69 miles; and New Tampa Family YMCA, 132 participants, 269.57 miles.
In addition to participating at a neighborhood Y, community members were also able to join via social media.
