Pittsburgh, May 2, 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 45 individuals from Erie who have served as active volunteers at CORE from March 2012 to March 2013. The event took place with a reception beginning at 6:00 p.m. and dinner at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 30, 2013 at the Kahkwa Club (3300 Kahkwa Club Road) in Erie, Pa.

The event also included a video presentation titled “I am Hope,” featuring the work of CORE’s volunteers, followed by guest speakers, Courtney Hall, kidney recipient; Brittany Grimm, heart recipient and David Piotrowicz, heart recipient.

“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 Erie for all that they do, and were pleased to recognize them on April 30.”

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.