For many families, the resource they turn to for comfort, advice, and support in times of crisis is the leader of their faith community. As Jon Barton, the General Minister of the Virginia Council of Churches and a pastor for 35 years, points out, faith leaders are wonderful at conversations about life and renewal. But who…

At 12 weeks into her pregnancy, Sarah Gray received devastating news. One of her identical twin sons would be born with anencephaly, a fatal defect that affects brain development. The shock ripped through her and her husband, not lessened by the fact that an in utero death of the sick twin could endanger the life of…

Denise Stotler talks to a lot of customers every day at the DMV. The manager at the Front Royal branch, she works the desk like the rest of her employees, helping customers renew their driver’s licenses and pay their registration fees. Some aren’t talkative but others strike up conversations, mostly about their children and dogs,…

Patricia Hannas works for the DMV’s Virginia Beach Hilltop Office, and she wanted to tell the story of her young nephew Steven Copeland’s incredible gift of organ donation. “He was 28 years old, an amazing young man who loved to kickbox and box. That was his passion,” she said fondly. “He was the type of…

“Well, this is a story all about how …” The opening line from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air repeated through Donna Moore’s mind as she thought about what theme to choose for her DMV’s Blue and Green Day video. Donna, a customer service rep at the Christiansburg DMV Customer Service Center (CSC), wanted to submit a video for Donate…

Some people get their lightbulb moment of inspiration in art galleries, on top of mountains, or in woodland cabins. Brad Dugai got his at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) in North Henrico. “I have a strong spiritual foundation,” Brad was quick to explain when asked about the inspiration for his kidney donation. “So from a human…

Dr. Minesh Patel is an accomplished figure in the Richmond area. The co-founder of Ariya Family Chiropractic Center, he owns six offices, scuba dives, bikes, runs, teaches and parents. And he does it all thanks to a pair of new eyes. Going blind at 22 “In 1998, I noticed that my vision was failing,” he…

This year will mark the tenth since the passing of Cindy Harris’ son Paul, an organ donor whose gifts would go on to improve or even save the lives of 69 other people. It’s both easy and difficult for Cindy to think of Paul, who died at age 18 from head trauma caused when his…

A conversation with Rich Eitzel, director of Team Virginia: When Rich Eitzel was a teenager, he spent about eight seconds considering before marking the “organ donor” checkbox on his driver’s license form. That was the last he’d think about organ donation until many years later when his father became ill. Even then, he only learned…

It’s one thing to donate an organ – it’s another thing entirely to share one. That’s what Tammy Blackwell and her brother, Chuck Parsons, are doing – sharing the same liver. The liver is the only human organ that can regenerate from just a piece, so when Tammy needed a new liver, transplant doctors at…