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Skate for Life a worthwhile community event

Tonight and Saturday, the community can celebrate the gift of organ donation at the Skate for Life event planned at Lakeview Arena in Marquette as part of the Marquette Royales hockey weekend.

This is the second year for the event and we are delighted to see it return after a successful launch in 2014.

Tickets are $7 for adults, $5 for seniors age 65 and older, $5 for kids 10 and older, free for youngsters under 10 and $2 for those with military ID. From each ticket sold, $1 will be donated to Skate for Life, which at the suggestion of the hockey team was created by the organizers of the highly regarded Run For Life which takes place in Marquette each spring.

The Royales approached Run for Life founder Amy Harju, asking if there was interest in doing an event together. There indeed was and this year, Skate for Life has returned to bring attention to organ donation.

Part of the weekend will be a Donor Honor Ceremony between the first and second periods of Saturday night’s game. Transplant recipients will honor their donors with a yellow rose during this ceremony, Harju told Mining Journal staff writer Zach Jay for a story which appeared in Thursday’s newspaper.

Harju, herself a transplant recipient, said the yellow rose symbolizes friendship, health and giving. A yellow rose will be placed in a vase in honor of donors who cannot be at the game and in memory of those who have passed away.

Any person who has been an organ donor or recipient is invited to the game to join in the ceremony Saturday.

The puck drops at 7:30 p.m. both days.

We thank the Marquette Royales for stepping up to help such a worthy cause. We also are grateful to Harju for starting Run for Life initially and for making this wintertime spin-off a great local event.

A quote from Harju best sums up Skate for Life: “As a kidney transplant recipient, what it means to me … celebrating the amazing gift that an organ transplant recipient has received – your health, your life back,” she said. “I think the importance to me, what I strive for in putting on this event, is letting people know, educating on the importance of organ donation.”

On a cold winter weekend, participating in Skate for Life will be a warm way to help others in the community. We encourage our readers to attend.

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