Shafter participates in Donate Life event

Former Shafter Mayor Cathy Prout joined representatives of 24 other cities in Southern California at the 2019 Donate Life Rose Parade Float Exclusive First Look Event held in the Fiesta Parade Floats in Irwindale.

The event is an exclusive opportunity for civic officials and leaders of the communities served by OneLegacy to see the Donate Life float for the first time. Mayor Prout joined One Legacy Volunteer Christine Wilson, former city clerk for Shafter and a living organ donor, in dedicating a rose on the float in honor of the partnership the city and OneLegacy shares with the Donate Life community.

Through personal interaction with float honorees, OneLegacy staff, ambassadors, and the float itself, Exclusive First Look event attendees learned about the Donate Life Rose Parade Float and the healing and life-saving cause it represents -- organ, eye and tissue donations. OneLegacy is the non-profit organ, eye and tissue recovery organization serving a seven-county area of Southern California.

The Donate Life Rose Parade Float was part of the 2019 Tournament of Roses parade in Pasadena,, on New Year's Day. Now on its 16th year, the Donate Life Rose Parade Float is the centerpiece of a national effort of more than 50 organizations to reach a broad audience with the simple, life-giving message that organ, eye and tissue donation saves lives and heals.

This year's Donate Life Rose Parade float included a total of 70 honorees from all around the nation who have been touched by organ, eye and tissue donation. Families of deceased donors are honored to see their loved one's likeness showcased as part of the float. Living donors and recipients bring the float to life by riding on or walking beside the float.

The theme for the 130th Rose Parade was "The Melody of Life." which celebrated music (the universal language). The 2019 Donate Life Rose Parade float, "Rhythm of the Heart," celebrated the musical diversity and rhythms of Africa, represented in a collection of musical instruments and other artifacts that belong to a series of African nations and cultures. Djembe drums from Senegal, along with a Kuba drum from the Congo, symbolize gathering in peace and bravery. These exotic drums will carefully integrate 44 floral prints, honoring the brave lives of deceased donors. Eighteen float riders and eight walkers touched by donation gathered in peace around the drums to celebrate the life-saving power that organ, eye and tissue donation has granted them to continue on their journey.