Donate Eight Breaks $10 Million Mark At New York Gala for LiveOnNY Foundation in Support of Organ Donation

Heart transplant recipient Karen Hill Crowell speaks to financial supporters about the generational impact of donation alongside her three-year-old daughter and donor mom Kelli Cutinella whose son, Thomas, saved four lives including Karen's

NEW YORK, June 26, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Nearly 1,000 people from New York's real estate industry turned out for Donate Eight's Spring Gala in Manhattan on June 11 in support of organ donation and LiveOnNY Foundation. The annual event is held each June at Gotham Hall, the New York City landmark known for its grand design from the 1920s.

Since its inception in 2013, Donate Eight has raised over $10 million, breaking the $10 million threshold at this month's gala. All funds raised go to LiveOnNY Foundation to educate the public about the gift of life, to help increase organ donation, and assist donor and recipient families during a difficult time in their lives. The non-profit was founded by Scott Salmirs, the President & CEO of ABM Industries, who brought together a committed group of New York real estate and building services executives to bring much needed attention to the gift of life, and to encourage people to sign up on the state's organ donor registry. 

"I am incredibly grateful to Donate Eight for their generosity and support for organ donation in New York," said Leonard Achan, President & CEO of LiveOnNY, the federally designated organ procurement organization (OPO) which coordinates organ donation in the greater New York metro area. "For more than a decade now, their loyalty and extraordinary financial commitment to our mission has helped LiveOnNY increase the number of organ donors nearly 70 percent in our region in the last three years. I salute Donate Eight for their steady support in this important mission, so we can give the gift of life to all those waiting for a second chance in New York and across the country."

More than 116,000 people are presently waiting for a life-saving organ in the United States – including 8,200 people in New York state. One organ donor can save up to eight lives – which is how the group decided to call itself "Donate Eight."

"I am so proud to be connected with this incredible cause and be part of the life-saving momentum Lenny Achan has brought in his four years at the helm of LiveOnNY," said Bill Dacunto, Chairman of LiveOnNY Foundation and Executive Vice President of Silverstein Properties, Inc.

Keynote speakers at the event included donor mom Kelli Cutinella, whose 16-year-old son, Thomas, saved four lives in 2014 after suffering a fatal brain injury during a varsity football game at Shoreham-Wading River High School on Long Island. Thomas' grateful heart recipient, Karen Hill Crowell, spoke as well, moving many in the crowd to tears. After receiving her heart transplant, she went on to graduate college, start a career, get married and have a child. She was accompanied on stage by her three-year-old daughter who was born seven years after Crowell's transplant. The Cutinella and the Crowell families have remained close – even running side by side in the Tunnel to Towers race commemorating FDNY Firefighter Stephen Sillers' sacrifice on September 11.

Holding up Colette on stage, Crowell thanked Donate Eight, LiveOnNY, her donor family and the enormous crowd filling Gotham Hall.

"I'm so thankful to the Cutinella family for honoring Thomas's wishes of being an organ donor. They are the only reason I am here," said Crowell. "Tonight, Donate Eight's generosity and LiveOnNY's tireless work become someone's future. Someone's second chance. Someone's legacy. Because of Thomas, I get to be here. Because of all of you here tonight, others will too."

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

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SOURCE LiveOnNY