(I’d like to challenge locals to attend this event.
Have dinner or just a good bottle from Greg Amsler’s TWO wine lists. No better time to drink if you can drink for a cause. And this one, celebrates a child’s life.)
Pete Truxaw, co-owner of Salt Creek Grille, will celebrate the nearly 13 years of life his nephew Chris has been able to enjoy thanks to a life-saving heart transplant he received when he was 13. Today, Chris is a Stanford graduate and successful business owner.
Truxaw and partner, Tim McCune, have become passionate about educating the public about organ donation and make a special effort to savor all of Chris’ milestones and accomplishments.
On April 24, Salt Creek Grille will once again host a Donate Life Day to kick off the statewide donor drive campaign in its three California-based restaurants – Dana Point, Valencia and El Segundo – and two New Jersey restaurants – Princeton and Rumson.
In El Segundo, Chris will be on hand during an outdoor festival from 1 to 4 p.m. that will include Salt Creek Grille and neighboring merchants in Plaza El Segundo coming together offering food, entertainment, fun and, most importantly, support. The fun-filled event will lend support to the effort of raising awareness and encouraging folks to become donors.
Volunteers and staff from non-profit organ and tissue recovery agencies will answer questions and help interested people sign up to be donors – a process that takes only minutes and can mean a lifetime to someone else.
“We’re celebrating the incredible 13 years of life my nephew Christopher has been able to enjoy thanks to a life-saving heart transplant when he was only 13,” Truxaw said. “Through donation, Chris’ donor Tommy Weiss did what no doctor could do. He saved Chris’ life. We consider Tommy, his mom, and all donors to be heroes. This special day is dedicated to them. This year Chris will have doubled his life because of Tommy’s gift of life.”
The need for donors is certainly there, as more than 100,000 Americans are waiting for organ transplants. Eighteen of them die every day waiting for a transplant that never comes.
“Me and my family are grateful every single day for the heart transplant that Chris received and want to do as much as possible to raise awareness and funding for the cause,” Truxaw said.
The public is invited to attend the April 24 outdoor festival in El Segundo and to drop by any Salt Creek Grille location to take part in the Donate Life California Donor Drive.
Salt Creek Grille Dana Point is at 760 South Sepulveda Blvd.
For more information about Salt Creek Grille, visit www.saltcreekgrille.com. To sign up to be a donor, visit www.donateLIFEcalifornia.org or www.doneVIDAcalifornia.org.
