The Katie Caples Foundation was started in 1998 by the family of Katie Caples, a young high school student from Jacksonville who became an organ and tissue donor after not surviving the trauma of an automobile accident. The Katie Ride For Life will raise funds to increase awareness of the importance of organ and tissue donation and encourage Floridians to make a positive decision about donation.

"We are hosting this event in memory of Katie and the wonderful legacy she left behind," says David Caples, Katie’s father and foundation chairman. "Katie was an athlete, and it is fitting to her memory to host a sporting event like this in her name. She was also a generous child who gave many others a chance to live through her gifts of organ and donor tissue."

"The decision to become an organ and tissue donor is very important," says Kathleen Giery of LifeQuest Organ Recovery Services, the local organ donor program for northern Florida. We hope that through this event, we can not only provide donor education to the community, but also raise funds for future donor education campaigns."