Gift of Hope Organ and Tissue Donor Network celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month with a series of events dedicated to honoring the contributions of Latino families to the area of organ donation and transplantation. Additionally, they strengthened their commitment to pave the way for a better future for Hispanics in Chicago through educational programs. Gift of Hope kicked off the month dedicated to celebrating the Latino community on September 15th with 30 Stories In 30 Days; a social media campaign to honor Hispanic families that have been impacted by organ donation and transplantation, and to bring them out of anonymity. Real life stories and testimonies were posted every day, from September 15 to October 15. Each story written in only three sentences can be viewed on Facebook and the complete stories can be found at giftofhope.org/espanol. For more information about organ donation visit: www.giftofhope.org/espanol.

To underscore the well-deserved celebration of Hispanic Heritage, Gift of Hope carried out Celebration of Hope and Life, an event exclusively for Latino families and completely in Spanish to honor and celebrate the heroic legacy of donor families. The event took place on October 4th, at the National Museum of Mexican Arts in Pilsen. Every day Hispanic families are able to see beyond their pain and say “yes” to donation in order to help those that are waiting for an “angel,” a donor that can save their life. Gift of Hope paid tribute to the generosity and courage of these families that have changed the lives of others with the greatest compassionate gesture that organ donation represents, leaving an altruistic and profound imprint on this earth. More than 20 families were honored during the ceremony, which also presented transplant beneficiaries the opportunity to express their gratitude to the donor families that were present.