Foundation grant honors heart recipient who inspired many

At the check presentation at Gift of Life Michigan was (left to right): Patrick Wells-O’Brien, VP, Communications and External Relations; Lisa Galas, Julia Evans’ mother; Sandy Checkal; Marge Del Greco, Gift of Life Foundation Board Member; Renee and Rick VanderHagen, Crum and Forester.
At the check presentation at Gift of Life Michigan was (left to right): Patrick Wells-O’Brien, VP, Communications and External Relations; Lisa Galas, Julia Evans’ mother; Sandy Chekal; Marge Del Greco, Gift of Life Foundation Board Member; Renee and Rick VanderHagen, Crum & Forster.

 

On Saturday, Aug. 27, a $10,000 grant was presented to the Gift of Life Foundation in honor of a Julia Evans, a heart recipient and cancer survivor, who inspired many.

Sandy Chekal, an employee at Crum & Forster, an insurance company with more than 2,500 employees nationwide, was so inspired by Julia’s story she submitted a grant request in her honor to the Crum and Forster Charitable Impact Committee, which awarded the funds to the Gift of Life Foundation. The Gift of Life Foundation supports the mission and work of Gift of Life Michigan and the donation and transplant community.   

“We thank companies like Crum & Forster for their support of the Gift of Life Foundation,” said Patrick Wells-O’Brien, VP, Communications and External Relations. “Partnerships like this enable us to get the message out about joining the Michigan Organ Donor Registry, ultimately saving lives like Julia’s with a life-saving organ.”

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