Be The Match Registry® member. Board of Ambassadors member. Gala volunteer. Estate plan giver. How does one person do so much for Be The Match—and perhaps more importantly, why do they do it?
Susan’s family was always very active in their community. She was raised to share her time, talent and treasure. “Volunteering has always been a big part of my life,” Susan said.
Her involvement with Be The Match started more than 10 years ago when Be The Match® (then known as the National Marrow Donor Program®) was one of her clients. Learning more about the mission, and recognizing how she personally could change someone’s life, she joined the marrow donor registry.
It wasn’t long before Susan would have an even greater personal connection to Be The Match when a friend’s husband required a bone marrow transplant. (He found his match and received his life-changing transplant.) “Seeing the direct impact of a life-saving marrow transplant on my friend’s family really made me want to give my time to Be The Match,” said Susan.
If Susan wasn’t able to do it by donating her marrow, she wanted to support the cause in other ways. Her friends were very involved in the Minneapolis Be The Match Gala and Susan wanted to volunteer as well. “Witnessing marrow donors and recipients meet for the first time at the gala is profound,” she shared.
For the past four years, she has also been volunteering as a member of the Be The Match Board of Ambassadors, helping to raise funds and engaging her personal network in support of the Be The Match Gala. “When you’re at the gala or making personal asks as a Board of Ambassadors member, you see the results, you know you’re impacting someone’s life—that you’re making a profound difference.”
She also decided to include Be The Match in her estate plans, designating her gift to patient assistance. “Several years ago, my husband was very sick—I know what it’s like to sit in a hospital and be away from work as a caregiver,” she shared. “The last thing people need is to make difficult decisions due to finances while they’re fighting for their life.”
Susan offers this advice regarding supporting a cause through your estate, “Leaving a legacy will impact future generations and go much further. If a cause matters enough to you that you’d donate today, think bigger and long term—it’s so easy.”
Learn how you can get involved and save lives like Susan—by joining the registry, volunteering or through financial contributions.
