Trivia For Life Fundraiser Honors Gold Medalist and Living Kidney Donor Crissy Perham

Here’s some solid-gold trivia. USA gold medal swimmers Crissy Perham and Missy Franklin never competed in the same Olympics, and they didn’t grow up or train in the same part of the country. But they share a special bond beyond their medals. What is it? In 2022, Perham donated a kidney to Missy’s father, Dick Franklin, after seeing an online plea from Franklin’s wife. Turns out the swim community is both tight and caring. The donor-recipient first meeting was a wave and a quick word from their respective hospital gurneys as both were prepped for the successful surgery. Since then, the two continue to bond and have virtually adopted each other’s families. American Transplant Foundation (ATF) spotlighted their story at its 5th annual Trivia for Life fundraiser and honored Perham with a special award.

Donor Alliance co-workers enjoy the sunset.

On Friday, Sept. 29, around 250 guests headed up to the DaVita Sky Lounge to catch up with old friends and warm up for a trivia competition that’s always fun and playfully intense. On a gorgeous fall evening, everyone could go out on the deck to take in breathtaking views of the mountains and downtown Denver during a picture-perfect sunset. DJ Mat provided a party atmosphere and Eurest servers manned beverage stations and circulated with appetizers. The “Olympic Village” food buffet opened and people settled in at their tables for Round 1 of an always-spirited Trivia for Life competition, as well as a short, very moving program emceed by 9News anchor-reporter Kim Christiansen.

(l to r): Diane Huttner, emcee Kim Christiansen and Cindy Farber

Gregg Farber served as trivia host, a living kidney donor for ATF co-founder Steve Farber. The Farber family attended, and continue their work to honor Steve’s legacy—he passed away in 2020. Board president Brad Farber and Executive Director Anastasia Henry presented the award to Chrissy Perham, who singled out three important men in her life: her college coach Frank Busch, her husband Charlie Perham and Dick Franklin. Franklin followed up, expressing his sincere admiration and gratitude for Perham and ATF. He traveled from out of state for this event and noted that his daughter Missy and his wife also wanted to attend, but Missy was being honored with an award of her own in Fort Lauderdale during a celebration that weekend. Franklin went on to express appreciation for an eight-minute NBC Sports segment that details his 2022 donor-recipient story with Perham, along with Missy’s Olympic connection. It can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9i5oeo7oZjk .

ATF writes: “Trivia For Life, a charity event featuring a trivia competition, was created by living kidney donor Gregg Farber in 2017 to bring the transplant and business community together for an evening of fun and friendly competition while raising money for the most vulnerable living organ donors, transplant recipients and their families. The event supports the American Transplant Foundation’s vision, ensuring that Colorado is the first state where no one dies while waiting for a transplant.

(l to r): Ski-jumping Olympian Randy Weber, double live, organ-donor transplant recipient; Wendy Amendolani and Randy’s son Espen Weber

“American Transplant Foundation is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that strives to save lives by reducing the growing list of women, men and children waiting for a transplant. Through maximizing living organ donation, American Transplant Foundation provides a three-tiered approach with educational, emotional and financial support for living donors, transplant patients and their families across the country with a specific focus on Colorado.” For more information about ATF, please go to: https://www.americantransplantfoundation.org.