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MONTREAL, March 14, 2013 /CNW Telbec/ - Don Cherry, hockey legend and
longtime host of CBC's Coach's Corner, is donating his 1997 Yukon to The Kidney Foundation of Canada's Kidney
Car program on World Kidney Day. The program benefits are far reaching
- and anyone can take advantage of them.
The Kidney Foundation's Kidney Car program, which tows vehicles for
free, provides a tax receipt to the donor and facilitates responsible
vehicle recycling, resale or auction, raises nearly $2.5 million
annually. The revenue from Kidney Car is invested in activities to help
people living with kidney disease, such as peer support, innovative
research and raising awareness of the importance of life-saving organ
donation as a preferred treatment for kidney failure.
Organ donation is a cause particularly dear to Don Cherry's heart. On
World Kidney Day, his message is particularly strong: "Hi Folks, I'll
bet you are just like me when I coached the Boston Bruins, what's all
this stuff about organ donations, it's nothing to do with me. I felt
the same way till it hit home personally with me. My son Tim was
healthy as all get out and then his kidneys failed and he immediately
had to go on a dialysis machine. I'm like you, I thought what the heck
is a dialysis machine. Tim was in dire straits let me tell you till my
daughter Cindy came to the rescue and donated one of her kidneys and
saved Tim's life and you know there are thousands like Tim waiting for
an organ transplant to save their lives and we can help these people in
many ways. That's where my Beauty Yukon SUV comes in. It's a lovely
Black Cherry inside & out. Leather inside & I love it. I bought it
brand new for Cindy, then my son Tim drove it, then I drove it for a
while and lastly my grandson Del drove it, but all good things must
come to an end. It has 300,000 miles on it and it breaks my heart but
it is time to go. I love that Beauty and I got to thinking what better
way to go out in style then by helping The Kidney Foundation of
Canada's Kidney Car Program. My Beauty agreed with me and like I said
it breaks my heart to see him go. I know I've made the right decision
so if you love an auto how about pitching in, stepping up to the plate
and help the Kidney Foundation in any way you can, by signing a donor
card or making a donation, because you never know, God forbidding what
happened to my family can happen to yours."
"My Dad is one of those people who falls in love with his vehicles.
When it was time to give this one up he could think of no better ending
to a vehicle that has served him, his son, daughter and grandson,
well. He saw this as a great solution and a win-win situation. The
Kidney Car Program is a triple win - hat trick - if you'd like, good
for us, good for The Kidney Foundation and the people it helps, and of
course, good for the environment," says Cindy Cherry, who donated a
kidney to her brother Tim when the dialysis he was having to treat
acute kidney injury from a streptococcal infection was no longer enough
to keep him alive.
"Dad and I travelled all over Ontario scouting in the Yukon, so there
are some great memories in that truck," said Tim Cherry. "It helped us
get through some pretty bad snow and ice storms. It's kind of sad to
see it go, an era in my life is gone. But the reality for me is that
without the grace of God and my sister donating her kidney and The
Kidney Foundation, I wouldn't be around to go scouting with my Dad. If
donating the Yukon helps raise the awareness of The Kidney Foundation
then the Yukon helps us out once again."
March is Kidney Health Month in Canada and The Kidney Foundations'
Kidney Car program is an easy and excellent way of supporting the
Foundation's work. To take advantage of this service and receive a tax
receipt for your donation, visit www.kidneycar.ca. To learn more about becoming an organ donor, visit www.kidney.ca/organ-donor-information. To download broadcast quality B-Roll related to this story please
visit http://cnw.pathfireondemand.com/viewpackage.action?packageid=696.
The Kidney Foundation of Canada is the national volunteer organization committed to reducing the burden
of kidney disease.
SOURCE Kidney Foundation of Canada
Video with caption: "Video: Don Cherry donates vehicle to support the mission of The Kidney Foundation of Canada ". Video available at: http://stream1.newswire.ca/cgi-bin/playback.cgi?file=20130314_C5098_VIDEO_EN_24570.mp4&posterurl=http://photos.newswire.ca/images/20130314_C5098_PHOTO_EN_24570.jpg&clientName=Kidney%20Foundation%20of%20Canada&caption=Video%3A%20Don%20Cherry%20donates%20vehicle%20to%20support%20the%20mission%20of%20The%20Kidney%20Foundation%20of%20Canada%20%20&title=KIDNEY%20FOUNDATION%20OF%20CANADA%20%2D%20Don%20Cherry%20Shows%20Support%20for%20Kidney%20Car%20Program%20on%20World%20Kidney%20Day&headline=Don%20Cherry%20Shows%20Support%20for%20Kidney%20Car%20Program%20on%20World%20Kidney%20Day
Video with caption: "Video: B-Roll: Don Cherry donates vehicle to Kidney Car program to increase support for organ donation". Video available at: http://stream1.newswire.ca/cgi-bin/playback.cgi?file=20130314_C5098_VIDEO_EN_24569.mp4&posterurl=http://photos.newswire.ca/images/20130314_C5098_PHOTO_EN_24569.jpg&clientName=Kidney%20Foundation%20of%20Canada&caption=Video%3A%20B%2DRoll%3A%20Don%20Cherry%20donates%20vehicle%20to%20Kidney%20Car%20program%20to%20increase%20support%20for%20organ%20donation&title=KIDNEY%20FOUNDATION%20OF%20CANADA%20%2D%20Don%20Cherry%20Shows%20Support%20for%20Kidney%20Car%20Program%20on%20World%20Kidney%20Day&headline=Don%20Cherry%20Shows%20Support%20for%20Kidney%20Car%20Program%20on%20World%20Kidney%20Day
Image with caption: "Don Cherry donates vehicle to Kidney Foundation, handing keys to volunteer Niloufer Bhesania. (CNW Group/Kidney Foundation of Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20130314_C5098_PHOTO_EN_24565.jpg
Image with caption: "Don Cherry donates vehicle to Kidney Car program in support of organ donation (CNW Group/Kidney Foundation of Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20130314_C5098_PHOTO_EN_24563.jpg
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