Pittsburgh, April 10, 2013 – The Center for Organ Recovery & Education (CORE), a federally designated not-for-profit organ procurement organization (OPO) serving Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and parts of New York, is pleased to hold a volunteer appreciation dinner honoring more than 50 individuals from West Virginia who have served as active volunteers at CORE from March 2012 to March 2013. Titled “I am Hope, I am a Volunteer,” the dinner took place from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 9, 2013 at the West Virginia Culture Center, Capitol Complex (1900 Kanawha Boulevard East) in Charleston, WV.

The event also included a video presentation featuring the work of CORE’s volunteers, followed by a guest speaker, Jo Burka, who is a living donor.

“At CORE, our volunteers enable us to continue to raise awareness about organ, tissue and cornea donation in the community. Many are donor family members, transplant recipients or know someone who’s been impacted by donation, which demonstrates their strong commitment and passion for the cause of encouraging others to make a pledge for life by becoming a donor,” said Susan Stuart, president and CEO of CORE. “And for this, we’d like to thank our volunteers in West Virginia for all that they do, and are pleased to recognize them on April 9.”

For more information about CORE, visit core.org or call 1-800-DONORS-7.

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 core.org or call 1-800-DONORS-7.