John and Starla Cassani established the Colby Foundation in 1995 after the death of their son, Colby. The Cassani’s found that donating Colby’s organs brought hope to a hopeless situation, made more real when they were privileged to meet Brayden, one of the recipients of Colby’s organs.
The Foundation serves to honor Colby’s memory by educating others about the hope and healing of organ and tissue donation. We are a small foundation working to make a national impact on others by offering the following:
- An endowment to qualifying schools of medicine incorporating the Colby Cassani Endowed Lectureship Series (CCELS) into their curriculum
- Speakers to community groups, workplaces, religious groups, or other entities interested in learning about organ and tissue donation
- Printed and web-based educational materials
- Web links for how to become a donor in all fifty states
- An e-newsletter and social media communications
The Colby Foundation also:
- encourages those who have encountered our message to consider organ and tissue donation;
- manages speaking engagement requests for our Co-Founder, Starla Cassani or refers speaking requests to our contacts;
- gratefully accepts tax-deductible contributions, making our work possible;
- welcomes “Stories of Hope” submissions (to inspire others, we share these real life journeys of organ donors, recipients, and those waiting);
- responds to inquiries about organ, eye, and tissue donation.
We encourage those who have encountered our message to use their newfound knowledge of organ donation and communicate the message of hope and healing to others.