Donate Life Connecticut

Dear family and friends,

I will be running the Hartford Marathon this upcoming October in honor of my late grandpa, Robert P. Lohmann. “Angel Grandpa,” as we refer to him in my family, was an incredible husband and father, as well as an accomplished mechanical engineer who helped advance supersonic commercial air transportation propulsion systems. My grandpa was also a heart transplant recipient. This miracle granted him more than two additional years of life after he left Hartford Hospital’s Transplant Center in 1997, all thanks to his donor’s extraordinary, most selfless gift: “The Gift of Life.”

Donate Life Connecticut is on a mission to make my grandpa’s story just one of many successful organ donations and transplants. By educating our community about the life-saving power of organ, eye, and tissue donation, this local nonprofit organization activates the public to register “yes” to donation. With more than 100,000 people currently on the national transplant waiting list — and more than 6,000 people who die each year while waiting — the need for generous donors is greater than ever.

Join me in supporting Donate Life Connecticut’s mission by sponsoring a mile in my upcoming Hartford Marathon run on October 11th, 2025!

To sponsor a mile, I kindly request your generous donation of $100. With 26.2 (grueling) miles to the finish line, that makes for a grand total of $2,620 that will be donated directly to Donate Life Connecticut via the GoFundMe platform. However, any donation, regardless of size, is greatly appreciated.

Your donation will directly contribute to crucial initiatives at Donate Life Connecticut, including:

Together, we can make a difference for those suffering from fatal illnesses and life-threatening injuries. Check out Donate Life Connecticut’s website to learn more about their amazing work: https://www.donatelifect.org/

Thank you for your support and for sharing this fundraiser with others! I'm looking forward to race day and completing my second marathon ever after having run the Berlin Marathon in 2022.

Connecticut Coalition for Organ & Tissue Donation (CCOTD), dba, Donate Life Connecticut, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with EIN 06-1346099. Your monetary contributions are tax-deductible to the maximum extent allowed by law.

Donate Life Connecticut is dedicated to the purpose of public education and awareness for all Connecticut residents concerning the lifesaving benefits of organ and tissue donation and increasing the number of registered donors. We are also champions of the power of living donation! Our mission for this fundraiser is special. Donate Life Connecticut is creating the very FIRST large-scale mural in all of New England that tells the stories of donation and transplant through art. The mural will be created right on Dixwell Avenue in Hamden! We are seeking the support of transplant and donation advocates and allies to help us bring this to life!