The Tennessee County Clerks’ Organ Donor Awareness Foundation announced it has reached a milestone of $5 million in donations in the same year that it celebrates its 20th anniversary. The funds, raised $1 at a time through the foundation’s “Donate a Dollar” program, are used to educate Tennesseans on the critical importance of organ and tissue donation.
“With caring local motorists making donations it has helped more than 7,000 Tennesseans to receive the gifts of life through organ transplantation in last 10 years, said Bill Knowles, Hamilton County Clerk.
“Dollars collected in Hamilton County have played a role in the success by making citizens aware of the great need by distributing educational materials, sponsoring school based programs and recognizing organ and tissue donors.” Bill Knowles was a founding member of the Tennessee County Clerks’ Organ Donor Awareness Foundation.
The Tennessee County Clerks Foundation asks local citizens to donate $1 when they visit their local county clerk’s office to register a new automobile or conduct other business. The foundation works with the state non-profits, Donate Life Tennessee, Tennessee Donor Services, and Mid-South Transplant Foundation, to educate Tennesseans on the critical importance of becoming an organ and tissue donor.
Bill Kemp, Sumner County Clerk who served as the foundation's original chairman, said, "We began working to pass legislation authorizing the creation of the foundation in 1995. It has been rewarding to serve alongside numerous county clerks supporting such a life-saving effort."
The foundation’s board, which includes physicians, donor service professionals, and county clerk representatives, administers the funds. These funds have been central to the development of the Donate Life Tennessee online registry, the creation and distribution of educational materials, school-based programs, and recognition programs for organ and tissue donors.
“This extraordinary effort is proof that every dollar does make a difference,” said Chuck Kizer, Lawrence County Clerk and the current chairman of the foundation’s board. “Who would have imagined when we started the foundation 20 years ago that we would reach $5 million in contributions? What an enormous gift the citizens of Tennessee have made to the thousands of people across the state who are waiting on organ and tissue donations to restore their lives.”