(MINEOLA, N.Y.) - Nassau County Executive Laura Curran and Legislator Delia DeRiggi-Whitton (D – Glen Cove) joined LiveOnNY and organ donors and recipients to commemorate April as National Donate Life Month during a dome-lighting ceremony at the Theodore Roosevelt Executive & Legislative Building on Monday, April 26.
Featured guests at the dome-lighting ceremony included Glen Cove resident, community leader and recent kidney transplant recipient Tony Jimenez and his donor, his niece Julianne Jimenez, of Centerport; recent kidney recipient Susan Dea, who was accompanied at the event by husband, Manhasset-Lakeville Fire Department firefighter Michael Dea; and organ donation advocate and Glen Cove FD firefighter Pete Prudente, an altruistic donor whose gift of life to a stranger launched a donor chain that has already saved seven lives to date.
“In my life, I’ve seen a few miracles, but what happened to Tony and his niece is probably my favorite miracle. Tony’s niece Juilanne stepped up and gave the ultimate gift of donating a kidney. She is beautiful, she is healthy, and she is here to show you that it can be done,” Legislator DeRiggi-Whitton said. “During National Donate Life Month and all year long, I am committed to continuing to work alongside activists like Pete Prudente and organizations like LiveOnNY to raise awareness about the critical demand for life-saving organ donations in New York State.”
Also on hand to support the event and the cause of organ donation were Karen Cummings, Community & Government Affairs Liaison for LiveOnNY, Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America (OSDIA) Grand Lodge of New York President Anthony Naccarato, and Joseph Gallo, President of the OSDIA’s Glen Cove-based Loggia 1016.
“We appreciate Nassau County Executive Laura Curran and Legislator DeRiggi-Whitton for being amazing advocates and highlighting the need for more Nassau residents to consider being life savers to their neighbors across the county,” Karen Cummings said. “As the dome is lit each light recognizes all New Yorkers desperately waiting for lifesaving transplants and the amazing donors who have given the gift of life.”
PHOTO CAPTION - The dome of the Theodore Roosevelt Executive and Legislative Building was illuminated blue and green in honor of National Donate Life Month on Monday, April 26.
PHOTO CREDIT - Photo by Peter M. Budraitis