Fallen CHP Officer Chosen for Rose Parade Float Honor

A Northern California CHP Officer killed in the line of duty will be remembered as a Hero for giving the Gift of Life through organ and tissue donation.

The California Transplant Donor Network, a nonprofit focused on saving the lives of those in need of organ and tissue transplants in Northern California and Northern Nevada, announced the selection of Officer Kenyon Youngstrom to be featured Jan. 1, 2015 at the Tournament of Roses Parade.

Youngstrom was shot while aiding another officer on a Northern California freeway in 2012. An image of the 37 year-old father of four will be a part of the float along with others who became donors.

[Previous: CHP Officer Kenyon Youngstrom Has Died.]

The 2015 Donate Life Rose Parade Float entry features 60 beautiful butterflies – one for each life that can be transformed by a single deceased donor – emerging from an open book.

The butterflies ascend above 72 volumes adorned with floragraph portraits of deceased donors whose legacies are Fallen CHP officer chosen for Rose Parade float nurtured by their loved ones.

Walking alongside the float will be 12 living organ donors whose stories have become intertwined with those of their recipients. Seated among thousands of dedicated roses will be 30 riders representing transplant recipients who celebrate the new chapters of their lives made possible only by the generosity of donors.

“Knowing that he donated makes his loss a bit more bearable. It’s comforting to know that a piece of him is still somewhere in a very real and concrete way. Kenyon would be proud; proud that he served
the community, and proud that he was able to donate his organs and save someone’s life,” said his wife, Karen.

Karen is a Donate Life Ambassador for CTDN and works to help spread the word that a shortage of organ and tissue donors means that 133,000 people – about a third of them in California - are on a
waiting list for organs. By registering – which is done online in less than two minutes online at donateLIFEcalifornia.org – one person can save or improve the lives of more than 50 people.

“California Transplant Donor Network works each day to help carry out the wishes of people, like Keynon, who registered as a donor so they might one day save lives,” said CTDN Chief Executive Officer Cindy Siljestrom. “Kenyon’s passion was helping others and he continued to do this even after his tragic death.”

Each year, the Donate Life float campaign is supported by more than 140 official sponsors from coast to coast, including organ and tissue recovery organizations, tissue and eye banks, hospitals, transplant centers, state donor registries, funeral homes, donor family foundations and affiliated organizations.

The 126th Rose Parade theme is “Inspiring Stories. The parade takes places Thursday, Jan. 1, 2015, at 8 a.m. (PST) in Pasadena, CA.

More information about the float is at donatelifefloat.org

About the California Transplant Donor Network
The California Transplant Donor Network saves and improves lives by facilitating organ and tissue donation for transplantation. The California
Transplant Donor Network helps 170 hospitals in 40 Northern and Central California and Northern Nevada counties offer the option of organ and tissue donation to families whose loved ones have died, coordinates deceased organ recovery and placement, and provides public education with the hope that every resident will become a donor. The California Transplant Donor Network is federally designated as the region’s organ recovery organization.
For information, visit www.ctdn.org.