http://www.abc4.com/content/news/slc/story/BYU-Utah-coaches-lend-support-to-National-Kidney/fuULt-nsBkywjt-Whnf9GQ.cspx

http://www.heraldextra.com/sports/college/byu/football/article_394fc9da-90d3-11e0-97f5-001cc4c002e0.html

Dear Kidney Foundation of Utah, It is very hard to put into words how much you have helped me since my kidney failure.  Because of your help, I have stayed alive long enough to see my grandchildren grow up.  This Summer, I was able to arrange to dialyze away from home and visit them in Oregon.  It is so hard to live on dialysis, but with your help, I have been able to make memories with my Grandkids that no one can ever take away.  No matter how bad things get for me, I will have these memories forever.  Thank you for the financial help you have provided to help lighten my burden with my medical care.  Sincerely,  David F.

Thank you for helping pay our mortgage to Countrywide Home Loans in December. At this point, what income we do have is spent on medical care. In our hardship we have seen miracles to keep us moving forward toward a kidney transplant. The gift from the National Kidney Foundation of Utah was one of these miracles. We are so grateful for your help. Thank you to everyone who donates a car or money to the Kidney Foundation to help keep people like me alive.  Gratefully, George and Ellen B.

Be sure to do your homework when donating your car to charity here in Utah.  There are some organizations with look-a-like names (for example: kars4kids instead of Kidney Kars, or Kidney Fund instead of National Kidney Foundation). There are also charities that fund-raise in Utah, even though they have no local presence and no one in Utah benefits from their services!  The worst, is believing you are donating to a good cause, when really, the middle man gets the biggest cut (some ‘charity’ car donation programs only give about 5% or 10% of the proceeds to the charity).   Call the charity, ask where their office is located, and what percent of the funds go to local programs.  Be sure to ask what those programs are.  Never donate to a charity that you’ve never heard of without first calling the Utah State Division of Consumer Protection (under the Department of Commerce).  The Division of Consumer protection ( http://www.commerce.utah.gov/ ) has information on all legitimate charities in Utah and can tell you what percent of the funding is applied to programs vs. overhead.  The National Kidney Foundation of Utah gets at least a couple of calls a month from donors, who think they’ve donated to Kidney Kars, but in fact, accidentally donated to Kars4Kids.  You might surprised you to learn who Kars4Kids really benefits : http://www.kcchronicle.com/articles/2007/11/06/business/local/doc4730548f382c6122372766.txt  Make sure you know who you’re donating to.  Pick a real Utah charity for your car donation!