Alan Weir speaks about Zaidee's Rainbow Foundation at the 2008 Claxton Shield
Zaidee’s Rainbow Foundation
Earlier this year the Australian Baseball community supported the Zaidee Rainbow Foundation at the 2007 Claxton Shield with all teams participating wearing rainbow coloured boot laces.
Baseball will again support the Zaidee Rainbow Foundation with players opting to wear rainbow shoe laces during at least one game of the 2008 IndependentAdvice.com Claxton Shield competition. As Claxton Shield games are being played at 6 venues this summer that will more exposure for the Zaidee Rainbow Foundation.
The Zaidee Rainbow Foundation was established in 2005 to promote the awareness of tissue and organ donation and was named after Zaidee Turner who donated her organs and tissue after a Cerebral Aneurism claimed her life in late 2004. Zaidee was one of the youngest Australians and one of only six children nationally to donate her organs in 2004.
Organ & Tissue donation in Australia is amongst the lowest in the developed world and any effort to address this problem can only benefit all Australians. The following statistics are a sobering reminder of how few Australians are Organ & Tissue donors.
In 2004, 160,000 Australian dies and only 218 were Organ and Tissue Donors
In 2005 only 204 people were donors
In 2006 only 202 people were donors
That works out to be around .0135% of the current population willing to become Organ & Tissue donors. A staggeringly low number when considered along side how many people can benefit from just one donor.
Further information on Organ & Tissue donation is available on www.zaidee.org
Another way in which Australian Baseball can support this valuable work and help create national awareness is for clubs to order laces direct from the Zaidee Rainbow Foundation. The order form is available at http://www.zaidee.org/images/Order.Form.pdf
Please support this most valuable of causes.
