Williamson County, Texas

Imagine if you could give the gift of restored sight to a young mother, human tissue to repair a first responder’s injured limb or an organ to save a teenager’s life.

National Donate Life Month, observed each April, encourages us to register as organ, eye and tissue donors to make these types of gifts possible.

One registered donor alone might save eight or nine lives and enhance that of 100 or more people. Think about it!

Registering is free to both the donor and donor’s family. All costs associated with the donation are charged to the recovery agency, but funeral expenses remain the responsibility of the family.

Signing the Texas Donate Life at https://www.donatelifetexas.org/ registry is a legally binding, first-person authorization by which you become a donor upon death.

That’s it. You sign up and go about your life!

The Donate Life Texas registry is the only official organ, eye and tissue donor registry of this state.

Based on 2018 population estimates, 78.6 percent of Williamson County residents are registered donors! That’s a whopper to be proud of.

PROCLAMATION

WHEREAS, National Donate Life Month (NDLM) is observed each April; and

 WHEREAS, while NDLM is a time to bring attention to organ donations, it also highlights the life-changing events with eye and tissue donations. It is time to spotlight not only those donors who give the gift of organs and tissue, but also to those recipients of such life-saving gifts; and

WHEREAS, The Donate Life Registry (www.donatelifetexas.org) is the only organ, eye, and tissue registry in the State of Texas, where just one person, who registers their intent to donate their organs, eyes, and tissue, might save up to 8 lives with organs and/or enhance far more lives of people with eyes & tissue; and

WHEREAS, as of March 30, 2021 on the Donate Life Registry, nationally, there are over 13M registered donors and almost 108,000 on the transplant list, of which over 10,000 are Texans; and

WHEREAS, using 2018 U.S. Census data, an astonishing 79% of Williamson County residents are registered donors; and

Texas Leadership Scholarship: Deadline June 30, 2021

WGU Undergrad and Grad degrees in:

• Information Technology
• Business
• Nursing
• Teaching

Please visit http://Texas.wgu.edu/takethelead for more details.

WHEREAS, Black History Month was first celebrated at Kent State University in 1970, but had its roots in 1926, when it was created as Negro History Week by Carter G. Woodson, American author, journalist, and educator, who realized the need for research of American Black History was being ignored, neglected, and misrepresented; and

WHEREAS, Black History is American History; and

WHEREAS, the following list is only a tiny, partial list of Black American firsts:

George Washington Carver Agricultural scientist, Inventor   1^st Black student and faculty member at Iowa State University

Shirley Chisholm Author, Educator, Politician   1^st Black woman elected to the U.S. Congress     1^st African American and woman candidate for a major party’s nomination for President

Bessie Coleman Aviator 1^st African American (and Native American) woman to hold a pilot license

W.E.B Du Bois Historian, Sociologist, Author, Civil Rights Activist      1^st African American to earn a doctorate at Harvard University

Althea Gibson Professional Tennis Player and Golfer      1^st African American to win a tennis Grand Slam Championship (The French Open) 

Kamala Harris Attorney, Politician      1^st African American (and Asian American) and female Vice President of the United States of America

Mae Jem Engineer, Physician, Business Leader, NASA Astronaut    1^st Black woman to travel into space

Barbara Jordan  Attorney, Educator, Politician    1^st African American elected to the Texas Senate after Reconstruction   1^st Southern African American woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives