An Olympic-style competition featuring more than 20 events is set to take center stage in Denver this summer for the first time.
These games are about far more than medals and records. They're the Transplant Games of America. While the event may appear to be a traditional athletic competition on the surface, its deeper purpose is to celebrate life, resilience, and the life-saving impact of organ donation.
For Andrew Menard, the Games are personal.
A participant for the past decade, Menard's journey began 12 years ago when he received a life-saving kidney transplant. What followed, he says, was "a heck of a journey."
At the time, Menard was working as a fourth-grade teacher when his community rallied around him in a remarkable way.
"My school came together," he recalled. "It was a parent from school who came through for me, and that's why I'm here today."
Since then, Menard has returned to the activities he loves and has become an advocate for organ donation awareness. Much of that advocacy has come through his involvement in the Transplant Games of America, a biennial event that brings together thousands of transplant recipients, living donors, and donor families from across the country.
This year marks a milestone: for the first time, the Games will be hosted in Denver, Colo.
Organizers expect approximately 12,000 attendees and call it "the largest celebration of life in the world."
The countdown is already underway. A recent flag-signing event for Team Rocky Mountain held at Donor Alliance marked 90 days until the opening ceremonies.
The team includes transplant recipients, living donors, and donor family members representing Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana. Menard, serving as team captain, joined community leaders and advocates to highlight both the excitement surrounding the games and the urgent need for more organ donors.
In Colorado alone, about 1,300 people are currently waiting for a life-saving transplant.
Leaders from Donor Alliance and other organizations used the event to reinforce their commitment to increasing awareness around organ, eye and tissue donation.
"Our community has grown so much by the fact that the Games are in Denver this year," said Menard
With fewer than 100 days until the Transplant Games of America begin, momentum continues to build.
The Transplant Games of America will be held at the Colorado Convention Center, June 18-23.