LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Kathy Vochoska, a OneLegacy ambassador in Kern County, California, has been named the 2018 recipient of the Donate Life America (DLA) Volunteer Service Award. The award, which recognizes Vochoska’s work over the past six years in educating high school and community college students about organ, eye and tissue donation and transplantation and the importance to register, will be presented at DLA’s National Conference on Oct. 3 in Portland.
Each year DLA honors a volunteer who has most demonstrated their “commitment to increase the number of donated organs, eyes and tissue available to save and heal lives, while continuing to develop a culture where donation is embraced as a fundamental human responsibility.” Over the past 25 years, DLA and the Donate Life community have registered nearly 145 million organ, eye and tissue donors in the United States – more than 58 percent of the adult population.
Since February 2012 Vochoska has unselfishly given more than 3,400 hours and has touched more than 43,000 students through nearly 1,500 local high school presentations. Her message resonates as she speaks from experience, sharing her personal journey of being a living donor to her son and the impact that has had on both of their lives. “I would suspect that there is hardly a teenager in Bakersfield who has not seen and been moved by one of Kathy’s presentations,” said OneLegacy CEO Tom Mone.
In addition to her work at high schools and community colleges, Vochoska regularly interacts with DMV offices in Kern County to ensure that the local staffs remain educated and informed about donation. She also conducts outreach to civic officials of five surrounding Kern County cities to encourage engagement with OneLegacy signature events, including the annual run/walk and the Donate Life Rose Parade® float.
“Kathy’s incredible volunteer service statistics speak for themselves, yet do not tell the full story,” said Mone. “As someone who speaks from personal experience as a living donor and therefore from the heart, Kathy is an integral part of our public education and messaging. And as a regional ambassador lead, Kathy provides leadership, encouragement and individualized training to our team of ambassadors in the Kern County area. We are fortunate to have her as part of the OneLegacy family and are thrilled to see her passion and dedication honored with this prestigious award.”
About OneLegacy
OneLegacy is a nonprofit organization dedicated to saving and healing lives through organ, eye and tissue donation in seven counties in Southern California: Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, Santa Barbara and Kern. Serving more than 200 hospitals, 11 transplant centers, and a diverse population of nearly 20 million, OneLegacy is the largest organ, eye and tissue recovery organization in the world. For more information, visit onelegacy.org, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.
