Mark Morris from Gift of Hope and ALMH President/CEO Dolan Dalpoas

ALMH Supports Organ Donation on Rose Parade Float

[December 30, 2014]  LINCOLN - On January 1, 2015 the world will focus its attention to Pasadena, California, USA, home of the Rose Parade and the Rose Bowl Game. This year’s 126th Rose Parade themed “Inspiring Stories,” will feature the many people around us who elevate the human spirit by who they are, what they have done, and what they continue to do. For the second year in a row, Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital is proud to play a role in the parade with a dedicated rose on the Donate Life float.

Since 2004, the Donate Life float has inspired people throughout the nation and the world to save and heal lives as organ, eye, and tissue donors. Each year in the U.S., about 28,000 organ transplants save lives and strengthen families and communities, while hundreds of thousands of people receive donated corneas and tissue to prevent or cure blindness, heal burns, save limbs and restore mobility.

The 2015 Donate Life Rose Parade Float will feature 60 butterflies emerging from an open book, representing the many lives that can be transformed by organ and tissue donors. The butterflies ascend above 72 book volumes adorned with floragraph photographs of deceased donors whose legacies are nurtured by their loved ones. The riders will be surrounded by a dedication garden filled with thousands of roses bearing personal messages of love, hope, and remembrance – including one from ALMH.

“Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital is proud to be a partner for organ donation. As transplant waiting lists expand, we are committed to giving hope to those in need of lifesaving organ and tissue transplants and supporting families through the process of donation,” said Dolan Dalpoas, ALMH President/CEO.

Mark Morris from Gift of Hope was on hand for the dedication. The handwritten message from Dalpoas states, “ALMH pledges our continued commitment and support of organ and tissue donation.”

ALMH is a critical access hospital located at 200 Stahlhut Drive in Lincoln, IL and is an affiliate of Memorial Health System. For more information, visit ALMH.org

[Angela Stoltzenburg, Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital]