– CORE holds floragraph decorating and dedication events Dec. 8 and Dec. 13 –

Pittsburgh, Dec. 8, 2016 – Jasmine “Nicole” Moore was engaged to be married and only 26 years old when her life was cut short in a tragic car accident in September 2012. As an organ, tissue and cornea donor her legacy lives on today. The Center for Organ Recovery & Education (CORE) and Donate Life West Virginia will honor her lasting gift of life with a floragraph portrait to be featured on Donate Life’s Teammates in Life float in the 2017 Rose Parade^®.

Moore’s family will join CORE employees and volunteers for a floragraph decorating and dedication event at 12:30 p.m. today, Thursday, Dec. 8, at CORE’s headquarters in O’Hara Township. A second decorating and dedication event will be held at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 13 in Ripley, West Virginia.

“To think she had saved, touched or enhanced so many lives … that’s my child, a hero,” said her mom, Lisa Johnson.

Now in its 14th year, Donate Life’s annual float is the centerpiece of a national effort of more than 50 organizations that have teamed up to reach a broad audience with the simple, life-giving message that organ, tissue and cornea donation saves and heals lives.

“We are honored to remember Nicole’s legacy as an organ, tissue and cornea donor through this memoriam that will be seen by millions of people as part of the 2017 Donate Life Rose Parade float,” said Susan Stuart, President and CEO, CORE.

The 2017 Pasadena Tournament of Roses theme, “Echoes of Success,” tells the story of how our character has developed through the selfless contributions of others and celebrates their inspirational gifts. This year’s float, Teammates in Life, will recognize a total of 96 honorees on a spectacular Polynesian catamaran. It will be propelled by a team of 24 organ, tissue and cornea transplant recipients rowing in unison with strength gained from their donors. The sails of the vessel will feature 60 floral portraits of donors interwoven with Polynesian designs and patterns. Just as the donors’ gifts empower the lives of others, the sails help power the catamaran on its journey. Twelve living donors and recipients, including a “kidney chain” of three living donors and their three recipients, will walk alongside the float carrying flowers in celebration of the life they have given to others and the quality of life they continue to enjoy themselves.

“This year’s float reminds us that no one succeeds alone, and we all thrive by working together,” said Tom Mone, chairman of the Donate Life float committee and CEO of OneLegacy, the nonprofit organ, eye and tissue recovery organization serving the greater Los Angeles area. “We are deeply grateful to all of our Donate Life Rose Parade sponsors, who are helping us spread the word about the life-saving power of organ, eye and tissue donation, enabling us to deliver life-changing messages on one of the biggest stages in the U.S., the Tournament of Roses Parade. Our sponsors’ daily and tireless work in their communities empowers organ, eye and tissue recipients, as well as donor families to share their stories and inspire others to register.”

In the United States today, there are 119,000 people currently waiting for a life-saving organ, and hundreds of thousands more whose lives could be healed through cornea and tissue transplantation. A single organ and tissue donor can save up to eight lives and heal 100 more.

As the world’s most visible campaign to inspire organ, tissue and cornea donation, The Donate Life Rose Parade^® Float inspires viewers to help the over one million people in need of transplants each year. Once completed, thanks to the efforts of more than a thousand volunteers, the Donate Life float will sail down the streets of Pasadena during the 128th Rose Parade^® presented by Honda on Monday, Jan. 2, 2017 at 8 a.m. (PST). For additional information about the Tournament of Roses, please visit the official website at www.tournamentofroses.com.

About CORE
The Center for Organ Recovery & Education (CORE) is one of 58 federally designated not-for-profit organ procurement organizations (OPOs) in the United States. CORE works closely with donor families and designated health care professionals to coordinate the surgical recovery of organs, tissues and corneas for transplantation.  CORE also facilitates the computerized matching of donated organs and placement of corneas. With headquarters in Pittsburgh and an office in Charleston, West Virginia, CORE oversees a region that encompasses 155 hospitals and almost six million people throughout Western Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Chemung County, NY.  For more information, visit www.core.org or call 1-800-DONORS-7.