Donate Eight Spring Reception Celebrates the Gift of Life and Raises $1 Million in Support of Organ Donation

Following 3,000-Mile Cross-Country Ride Honoring Organ Donor Heroes, Heart Transplant Recipient Ken Abbott Shares Inspiring Story with Over 700 Hundred Cheering Supporters

NEW YORK, June 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- On June 10, members of New York City's real estate, building management, and building service communities, along with healthcare leaders and supporters of organ donation gathered at Gotham Hall in Manhattan for Donate Eight's 14th Annual Spring Cocktail Reception. The event raised $1 million in support of the LiveOnNY Foundation and celebrated the lifesaving impact of organ donation.

Proceeds from the evening will help advance the LiveOnNY Foundation's efforts to educate the public about the gift of life and provide support to donor families and transplant recipients throughout the region.

Founded by members of New York City's real estate, building management, and building service community, Donate Eight was established to increase awareness of organ donation and transplantation. Through its annual fundraising efforts benefiting the LiveOnNY Foundation, the organization has helped expand programs that save and improve lives across the region.

"For fourteen years, Donate Eight has brought together New York's real estate and building service communities around a simple but powerful mission: helping save and improve lives through organ donation," said Scott Salmirs, founding Board Member of Donate Eight and President and Chief Executive Officer of ABM Industries, Inc. "The generosity of our supporters continues to fuel education, outreach, and advocacy efforts that inspire more people to register as organ donors and give others a second chance at life."

"The funds raised through Donate Eight have a direct impact on our ability to educate communities, support donor families, and advance initiatives that strengthen donation and transplantation across New York," said Bill Dacunto, Chairman of the LiveOnNY Foundation and Executive Vice President of Silverstein Properties, Inc. "Every dollar raised helps ensure that more lives can be saved through the gift of organ donation."

The evening's keynote speaker, Ken Abbott, a heart transplant recipient and longtime advocate for organ donation, shared his remarkable journey completing a 3,000-mile cross-country bicycle ride to raise awareness about organ donation and support the LiveOnNY Foundation.

Traveling through California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida, Abbott's ride reached millions of people nationwide and raised more than $35,000 in support of the Foundation. His journey honored organ donor heroes and underscored the far-reaching impact of organ donation. Between 2022 and 2025 alone, donors from New York provided 130 lifesaving organs to recipients across the states Abbott traveled through during his ride. During that same period, nearly 5,000 individuals came off the waiting list locally and nationally because of New York donors.

During his keynote address, Abbott reflected on the gift that made his second chance at life possible and the responsibility he feels to honor organ donors through advocacy and awareness.

"My life was saved because a 45-year-old New Yorker made the selfless decision to become an organ donor. Every day of my life I strive to honor his memory," said Abbott. "My cross-country ride is done, but with 100,000 people on the national waitlist—and more than 8,000 adults and children waiting right here in New York State—our mission together continues."

"Every organ donor has the power to transform not just one life, but entire families and communities," said Leonard Achan, President and CEO of LiveOnNY. "Behind every donor is a family that made a courageous decision during an incredibly difficult time, and behind every recipient is a life renewed. Support from organizations like Donate Eight helps us honor those gifts while inspiring more New Yorkers to register as organ donors and save lives."

Over the past decade, Donate Eight has raised millions of dollars to support programs that strengthen donation and transplantation throughout New York, helping ensure that more individuals and families benefit from the lifesaving gift of organ donation.

To learn more about the LiveOnNY Foundation and support its mission to educate the public about organ donation and provide resources for donor families and transplant recipients, click here.

ABOUT LIVEONNY FOUNDATION
LiveOnNY Foundation is the 501(c) (3) philanthropic arm of LiveOnNY – the federally designated organ procurement organization which coordinates organ, eye and tissue donation in the greater metropolitan area. For more information go to liveonnyfoundation.org.

ABOUT DONATE EIGHT
Donate Eight is a non-profit organization founded by members of the New York City Real Estate, Building Management and Building Service community in response to the immediate need to increase organ donation education and awareness to help save more lives through transplantation. Learn more about Donate Eight at donateeight.org.

ABOUT LIVEONNY
LiveOnNY is a federally designated organ procurement organization (OPO) committed to honoring, saving, and transforming lives through organ and tissue donation. Established in 1978, LiveOnNY collaborates with more than 100 area hospitals, providing support to donor families and transplant recipients. The OPO serves a diverse population of 13 million people of New York City and Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Orange, Putnam, Dutchess, and Rockland counties. Recognized as one of the nation's top-performing OPOs, LiveOnNY and the people of New York have increased organ donation by 85% over the past five years. To learn more, visit LiveOnNY.org.

SOURCE LiveOnNY