Love Ride 2008 Attracts The Big Names

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 13:30:00 -0000

20,000 motorcyclists from across the U.S. and around the world rode in the 25th Annual Love Ride late last month and raised over US$1 million for Southern California-based charities.

The event – which was hosted by Jay Leno and featured celebrity riders such as Gene Simmons, Peter Fonda, Robert Patrick, Rutger Hauer, Larry Hagman, Mark-Paul Harry Gosselaar, Michael Trucco (Battlestar Galactica), and Carmine Giovinazzo (CSI: NY) – culminated in a concert featuring the Foo Fighters, ZZ Top, and members of Velvet Revolver.

The annual Love Ride – held along the West Coast of the US from Glendale to Pomona – has raised over $21 million since it was launched in 1984, and is now one of the biggest one-day motorcycle events in the world. Beneficiaries of this year’s event included the Muscular Dystrophy Association, Autism Speaks, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Reading By 9 Child Literacy Initiative, Providence Saint Joseph Foundation, Catholic Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Special Olympics of Southern California, Frostig Center, Scleroderma Foundation, Glendale Community College, Rett Syndrome Foundation, Optimist Youth Homes & Family Centers, Diabetes Institute for Immunology and Transplantation, Friends of Castaic Lake, and the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation.

JR Shoots Back - For Organ Donations

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 04:50:18 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

The question on everybody’s lips used to be “Who shot JR?” But Larry Hagman, the man who brought JR Ewing to worldwide fame in the television series Dallas, survived a disaster of a different kind 13 years ago when a liver transplant saved him from an untimely death. And now the 76-year-old actor is making people aware of the disease that nearly killed him, and spent this week encouraging people to get tested for kidney and liver disease and to sign up as organ donars.

“Some people just won’t give their organs, and I’ll never understand why,” he said. “Why throw ‘em away?”

Hagman, also known for his starring role in I Dream Of Jeannie, spent Wednesday in Seattle promoting the work of the Northwest Kidney Centers, a non-profit organization that provides dialysis treatment to over 1,300 patients. As well as visiting patients, Hagman found the time to record a Public Service Announcement to raise awareness of the agency’s newest center, the SeaTac Kidney Center and Pavilion.

“Just his presence in our dialysis center was amazing,” said Ingrid Goodwin, a spokesperson for the organization. “The patients were so excited.”

The Northwest Kidney Centers first rose to prominence in 1962, when they pioneered kidney dialysis after breakthroughs made by Dr Belding Scribner of the University of Washington. In May they are set to host a kidney health fair at the African American Academy in Seattle, which aims to educate people about the hidden dangers of kidney disease, a shadowy killer that affects one-in-nine people in the US.

“It is so important to get the word out – transplantation saves lives,” said Hagman. “We recycle everything these days – paper, cardboard, glass, plastic, tires – why not recycle ourselves?”

Look To The Stars News: Larry Hagman

Love Ride 2008 Attracts The Big Names

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