National Donor Sabbath
Each year, the eye, organ and tissue banking communities observe National Donor Sabbath two weekends before Thanksgiving. In 2006, National Donor Sabbath weekend will be observed November 10-12.

During this interfaith celebration of life, faith leaders who choose to participate in discussions about donation encourage members of their congregation to bcome eye, organ and tissue donors in order to share the gifts of sight and life with others. The goal of the weekend is to get American families to think about donation and to understand the importance of talking as a family about the decision to donate.

What can you do to celebrate National Donor Sabbath and get your home congregation involved in spreading the word about donation?

• Send a letter or email to the leadership at your place of worship telling them about National Donor Sabbath and explain how you'd like the congregation to observe the celebration.
• Offer to speak or arrange for a speaker at your service, youth class or adult ministry group.
• Arrange to set up an informational table at your place of worship and hold a donor card drive to encourage individuals to become donors.
• Organize a candle lighting ceremony to commemorate donors, donor families and recipients.
• Host a donor awareness workship, prayer breakfast or health fair with information about donation and presentations by donor families and recipients.

The Heartland Lions Eye Banks are a great resource for you, should you choose to implement any of these ideas! Below are links to several PDF documents that you might find useful in organizing a National Donor Sabbath event. For more information or to gain access to additional educational materials, please contact us at 1-800-753-2265.

Program Insert
Religious Views on Donation
National Donor Sabbath Bookmark
National Donor Sabbath Poster

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