Event will feature autographs with NASCAR driver Ryan Newman
A go-to retailer in Noblesville for everything outdoors has partnered with Donate Life Indiana during National Donate Life Month to raise awareness about how critically important organ donation is in saving Hoosier lives.
Cabela’s Donate Life Day starts at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 16 with a news conference featuring NASCAR winner and native Hoosier Ryan Newman, Cabela’s General Manager Brian Crawford, Donate Life Indiana Chairman Tim Clauson and an executive with Indiana Department of Natural Resources. Also speaking will be Sen. Blake Doriot (R-Goshen), who co-authored a bill recently signed into law by Gov. Eric Holcomb requiring the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency to ask all license applicants and those seeking a license renewal if they wish to become an organ donor.
Newman will greet race fans and outdoor enthusiasts and sign autographs from 10:30 a.m. to noon at the store, located at 13725 Cabela Pkwy., Noblesville, near the Hamilton Town Center. Through 2 p.m., there will be family-friendly games and activities hosted by Donate Life Indiana, Cabela’s and the DNR, plus a variety of giveaways.
“We look forward to celebrating the hundreds of hunters and anglers who said yes to organ donation when they received their licenses last year and the commitment by Cabela’s to help grow that number through special store and community initiatives,” said Tim Clauson, president of the board of directors of Donate Life Indiana, the organization responsible for managing the state’s donor registry and raising awareness for organ, eye and tissue donation and transplantation through public education.
The event is a perfect fit for the location, as Gov. Holcomb’s passage of Senate Enrolled Act 288 in 2020 allowed the DNR to begin asking hunters, anglers and trappers to sign up as organ donors when buying their licenses. Through a two-week, in-store awareness campaign that started April 1, Cabela’s has encouraged customers to consider signing up to become an organ donor.
Currently, more than 106,000 Americans are waiting on a lifesaving organ transplant, including nearly 1,100 Hoosiers. More than 4.2 million Hoosiers are registered organ donors.
Despite age or medical history, anyone can sign up to be a donor online at donatelifeindiana.org.
About National Donate Life Month
National Donate Life Month raises awareness about donation, encourages Americans to register as organ, eye and tissue donors, and honors those who have saved lives through the gift of donation. This year’s theme is “Bee a Donor,” inspired by the vital role that bees play in sustaining life. Bees are a small but powerful life force, working together with dedication, collaboration and a strong sense of community.
This National Donate Life Month, Americans are asked to become a part of this interconnected life-sustaining community by registering as an organ, eye and tissue donor; becoming educated about living donation; and championing the Donate Life cause.
Important National Donate Life Month dates: April 16-23, Blue & Green Spirit Week; April 22, National Donate Life Month Blue & Green Day; and April 24-30, National Pediatric Transplant Week. For more information, visit donatelifeindiana.org.