Put your kidney where your heart is… consider becoming a living kidney donor for someone in need.

For Jack, becoming a police officer wasn't simply choosing a career. It was choosing a life of service. The people who know him best will tell you that helping others has always come naturally to him.

That commitment was put to the ultimate test on January 20, 2024.

It was an exceptionally cold night, with wind chills well below zero, when Jack responded to an armed hostage situation alongside fellow Wilbraham police officers. As officers moved into position outside the home, they were ambushed by gunfire. The officer standing beside Jack was critically wounded. In the face of extraordinary danger, Jack acted with courage and selflessness to subdue the assailant, helping save the lives of others.

For his actions that night, Jack was awarded the Medal of Valor, one of law enforcement's highest recognitions for extraordinary courage in the line of duty.

You can ask Jack about that night, but he won't talk about himself.

He'll tell you he was simply doing the job he was trained to do. He'll talk about his fellow officers, the teamwork that night, and the people who all went home to their families. Recognition has never been what motivates him.

Today, Jack faces a challenge that no amount of courage, determination, or training can overcome alone. A rare inherited kidney disease has progressed to end-stage kidney failure. Three days every week, dialysis keeps him alive—but it cannot give him back the life he worked so hard to build.

Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) is a rare genetic disease that has changed the course of a young man whose life has always been dedicated to serving others.

A living kidney donor would do far more than end Jack's dialysis treatments.

It would give him the chance to put the uniform back on.
To answer another call for help.
To serve his community again.
To spend ordinary days with family and friends without planning life around dialysis.
To build the future that kidney disease has placed on hold.
Jack has spent his adult life answering calls for help from people he had never met.

Today, he is hoping one person he has never met will answer his.

If you would like to learn more about becoming a living kidney donor, we invite you to take the first step. Even if donation isn't right for you, sharing Jack's story with your family, friends, coworkers, and social networks may help it reach the one person whose decision changes everything.

Jack's story needs one more hero. Could that hero be you?

Do you want to help Jack? Please share the link to Jack’s story or reach out to Kidneys for Communities at info@kidneysforcommunities.org to learn more about how you can help. The Kidneys for Communities team is here to answer your questions.