2024 Ambassador Award Winners

The best word to describe Peggy Bland is dependable. In the short time that Peggy has been connected to Lifeline of Ohio she has already served for more than 170 hours!

Peggy volunteers in honor of her late husband, Ron, who received two gifts of life, 18 years apart. Because Ron was gifted nearly 28 years with Peggy before his passing, she gifts her time and service in his memory, and in tribute to his two generous donors.

Peggy makes countless deliveries on behalf of Lifeline of Ohio. Most notably, she delivers our Honey Bee mascot costume to and from the mascot agency for cleaning. Peggy makes herself available whenever we need her, no matter how last minute, to make sure that Honey Bee is where she needs to be.

Peggy always offers to handle any far-reaching delivery projects. To thank our funeral home partners for Funeral Director Appreciation Day, Peggy kindly offered to deliver all of the unclaimed “thank you” packages—this year it was 65 deliveries for one project, which meant a trip to 24 counties!

She’s someone we can always turn to for help, and she’s never without a smile. Lifeline of Ohio is so fortunate to have Peggy on board, and is proud to name her as a Golden Ambassador.

If you’ve attended Lifeline of Ohio’s annual 5K, the Dash for Donation, you’ve likely seen the work of Diane Ivery, affectionately known as “Ladybug.” It isn’t uncommon to see her, brush in hand, painting a beautiful creation on the face of a smiling child. She makes a special day even more special by sharing her artistic gifts with our community.

This year will mark 15 years that Ladybug has been painting happy faces at the Dash for Donation! We’re so excited to recognize her ahead of our 25^th anniversary race. Ladybug, Lifeline of Ohio is so lucky to work with you! Thank you for all you do to help spread joy at such a special event.

In the 5 years that Betty and Tommy Lawrence have been connected to Lifeline of Ohio they have attended dozens of community fairs and helped with numerous events. But it is the work that they do on their own that makes the biggest difference.

Each year, Betty and Tommy attend dozens and dozens of car shows. Everyone in the Central Ohio car show community knows their distinctive red Volkswagen Beetle, which they decorate with Donate Life information. Tommy is a grateful heart recipient, and the Lawrences are using his second chance at life to show their gratefulness for Tommy’s “second engine.”

Each year, Betty and Tommy take pride in registering more folks than ever before—in 2023, they registered 28 people! For their dedication to sharing the message of organ, eye and tissue donation in this unique and fun way, Lifeline of Ohio is so excited to recognize Tommy and Betty Lawrence as Golden Ambassadors!

African Americans are 3x more likely to need a lifesaving transplant than any other ethnicity. The Rooted In Life awareness campaign aims to raise awareness about the critical need for organ, eye and tissue donation within the Black community. It does this by featuring the powerful stories of members within the National Pan-Hellenic Council of Columbus (NPHC-Columbus), affectionately known as the Divine Nine, representing all Nine Black Greek-lettered organizations whose lives have been touched by donation.

Our Ambassadors, Benita Smith (2-time kidney recipient), Jabbar Fant (heart recipient), Kenneth Van Pelt (kidney recipient), Marshall Cheatham (kidney recipient) and Rhonda Major-Mack (loved one died waiting), are members of the Divine Nine and worked with Lifeline of Ohio to share their impactful stories.

By sharing their powerful stories, they not only increase organ, eye and tissue donation awareness but also help people in the community become registered organ donors.

You can learn more about Rooted in Life here.