| Kim and Dave Burdakin, former residents of Muscatine, Iowa, sponsored the creation of Blu. Kim received a liver transplant in 2000 at University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics. Blu was created in 2017 by Kim's brother, Jim Hetzler with Hetz Studio, as part of a public art installation and fundraising campaign called K-9s for Cops. The art campaign memorializes Chicago's fallen officers while supporting the families of officers killed or seriously injured in the line of duty. Jim created Blu in Kim's honor as a tribute to organ and tissue donation. The Burdakin family donated Blu to the UIHC Transplant Center in gratitude for the specialized care that Kim received and to help continue their efforts to raise awareness of the importance of organ and tissue donation. We are very thankful that the Burdakin family is in support of The Dragonfly Transplant Fund and we love seeing Blu on display at the UIHC Transplant Center! |  |
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Our golf committee volunteers were very excited to present the University of Iowa Center for Advancement with a check for $32,665.00 from the proceeds of our 4th Annual Dragonfly Transplant Fund Golf Outing and Fundraiser this summer! Thank you to Alli Ingman from UICA for joining us for this special moment.  From L to R: Nick Tallman, Woody Bruhn, Ed Brown, Alli Ingman, Jack Blong, Nicole Schroeder (Not Pictured: Darrin Yuska, Brad Cummins, Dave Longtine)
Create an engaged community of survivorship and re-birth from end-stage organ failure for pre-, peri and post-transplant patients and for their caregivers through philanthropy with:
Our team of volunteers cannot thank our sponsors, donors, and golfers enough for making our 4th Annual Golf Outing and Fundraiser a huge success again in 2021! We had beautiful August weather with over 100 golfers at Blue Top Ridge Golf Course.  As always, we would like to share a special thank you to our volunteers, Mike and the team at Riverside Casino & Golf Resort, Iowa Donor Network, the University of Iowa Center for Advancement, the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics Transplant Center, and the Iowa DNR. Thank you for supporting our mission every day and helping us work toward our vision for the Dragonfly Transplant Fund. We are very thankful for the organ donors who were in attendance and shared their stories with us and our golfers.
We also want to thank Deb Brown for watching over this year's golf outing and keeping the sun shining on us. We look forward to seeing you at our 5th Annual Golf Outing at Blue Top Ridge Golf Course in Riverside, Iowa in 2022!! Stay tuned for the official date and registration information in the coming months. If you're registered for our 4th Annual Golf Outing & Fundraiser, the countdown is ON! We are ONE WEEK away from an exciting day at Blue Top Ridge Golf Course at Riverside Casino & Golf Resort in Riverside, Iowa. Shotgun is at 12pm.
 In addition to our Premier Sponsors, we have to give a huge THANK YOU to our hole sponsors for our 4th Annual Golf Outing & Fundraiser: Schneider Electric, RSM US LLP, Hills Bank, That's Storbiz Self Storage, Hanson Realty, The UI Center for Advancement, The Achievement Group, Billion Auto - Chevy Buick GMC Cadillac of Iowa City, AlphaGraphics North Liberty, Dave & Kim Burdakin, Texas Roadhouse, Dan's Overhead Doors & More, F&M Bank, Golfusa, Suburban Landscape, United Life Insurance Company, Farm Financial Strategies, and Project SAFE CRCA. We can't wait to see you on the green!  We look forward to introducing everyone to our Kid Captain, Gavin, this year! Gavin will be handing out ball markers to all of our golfers this year. Thank you to AlphaGraphics North Liberty for designing and producing these special tokens for our event. We also owe a special thank you to our Reception Sponsor, Ryan Fowler Insurance, and our Prize Cart Sponsor, The Achievement Group. We will host everyone on the patio near the golf shop at Riverside after the golf outing to award prizes and celebrate together.
When you're at Blue Top Ridge Golf Course, be sure to be friendly to the Blue Top staff serving up cold beverages, snacks, and your boxed lunches. Thank you to Mike and the whole crew at Blue Top Ridge Golf Course for taking great care of year after year for this very special event. There will be opportunities for you to get your raffle tickets and EVERYONE is automatically entered to win the general drawing prizes.
We can't wait to see everyone at our 4th Annual Golf Outing & Fundraiser!  We receive support from individuals, businesses, and organizations from all across the United States. We are very fortunate to have the support of these two ladies from Alpha Graphics in North Liberty. Alpha Graphics has been our first choice for all things graphics, displays, and giveaways since the inception of the Dragonfly Transplant Fund. Cynthia (left) and Michele have been a critical part of our success, and they took time out of their personal lives to craft these beautiful works of art for us to display at the upcoming golf outing.
Thank you to Cynthia and Michele from Alpha Graphics for sharing your talents with us at the Dragonfly Transplant Fund! We appreciate you and your continued support of our mission. -Ed Brown  The Celebration of Life Open House in Memory of Deb Brown has been scheduled for Saturday, August 21st, 2021 from 3:30pm to 5:30pm at the Cedar Memorial Family Center in Cedar Rapids.
In the midst of a pandemic, we didn't feel there was an appropriate time to truly celebrate her life. We will be gathering to share some of our favorite memories, our stories, to laugh, to cry, and remember Deb. This event was previously scheduled for September 2020 and has been rescheduled in 2021. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact our team of volunteers.  Photo and Graphic Design by Read Photography in Cedar Rapids, IA A legacy is a powerful approach to make a lasting difference. It is a way of creating the future you will not see but believe can be. "Ultimately, how we live our life defines our legacy. For Deb, she was a great cook and baker who loved to entertain guests. She loved all animals. She was an avid reader (especially cookbooks and magazines). She spent so much time in her gardens. She had many good friends and she had a way of making the people she was with the center of attention. As I write this today, April 12th, 2021, it is our 41st wedding anniversary. We spent many beautiful years together that were filled with all kinds of memories of family, traveling, and just simply enjoying our home. She left us physically last year on May 10th, Mother’s Day. She left so many good things behind for us. Now that I have had a year to stand back and reflect, one quality of Deb’s stands out to me. Her courage and tenacity was a quality that speaks best for her. Fifteen years ago, Deb took on breast cancer and, from there, she moved forward. Four years ago, she struggled through the process of a successful liver transplant, and she moved forward again. She was a fighter! Through all of the challenges that she faced, she showed courage through each challenge - time and time again. Together, we hoped The Dragonfly Transplant Fund that we established would help transplant patients, families, and caregivers. It is our way of saying thank you to organ donors - past, present, and future - and also a way to thank the whole medical staff that guided us through the transplant process. This fund is our legacy, what we wanted to give back for all that we received, and how we both want to be remembered. Most importantly, it is a way of creating the future...Deb’s legacy, my legacy, and our legacy together." - Ed Brown, Co-Founder of The Dragonfly Transplant Fund 
Did you miss last year's golf outing? Here's what you missed...
IMPORTANT!!
100% of the proceeds of this fundraising event, including sponsorships and registration fees, go to the Dragonfly Transplant Fund. Interested in sponsoring this year's golf outing? Check out our sponsorship opportunities.  A month to care. A month to give."National Donate Life Month (NDLM) was established by Donate Life America and its partnering organizations in 2003. Observed in April each year, National Donate Life Month helps to encourage Americans to register as organ, eye and tissue donors and to honor those that have saved lives through the gift of donation." - https://www.donatelife.net/ndlm/  Important Organ Donation Awareness Days NEW! Donate Life Living Donor Day NEW! Blue & Green Spirit Week National Donate Life Month Blue and Green Day is Friday, April 16, 2021. National Pediatric Transplant Week is April 18-24, 2021. Show Your Support on Facebook You can help support the #DonateLife cause by adding a Facebook frame to your profile pic. Choose either a 2021 Donate Life Month garden theme or a Donate Life green band frame. To add the frame, you can go to www.facebook.com/profilepicframes or hover over your profile pic, click Update on your profile picture, click Add Frame, search for the frames by entering National Donate Life Month, choose the frame you want to use and click Use as Profile Picture. Thank you! #DonateLifeMonth REMINDER: Join Our Team!!
Register by April 8th to guarantee the special 2021 Virtual Green 5K race swag. Registration includes a cooling neck gaiter/headwrap, a finisher medal, and printable race bib (excluding the I Care, But I'm Not Getting Off the Couch registration type). Race packets will be mailed directly to your house prior to race day. Tell Iowa Donor Network why you participate in the Green 5K and who you are running for! Use the special Virtual Green 5K signage to design an inspiring sign and possibly win a prize.
For inspiration on videos, check out the creative videos submitted in 2020 HERE. Don't miss out on a chance to be a part of this special program! The deadline to submit content is April 15th.
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AuthorsVolunteers with the Dragonfly Transplant Fund established by Ed and Deb Brown are dedicated to supporting the UIHC Organ Transplant Center through giving. We share their stories, fundraising efforts, and memories here with followers, friends, and family who support the Dragonfly Transplant Fund. 
Click here to learn more about the UIHC Transplant Center in Iowa City, Iowa.Archives
May 2022
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