Gift of Hope, Organ and Tissue Donor Network hosted the inaugural “Faces of Hope” awards ceremony Thursday, July 31st, at Adobo Grill Restaurant, to celebrate a notable increase in the donor authorization rate among Hispanics and honor Chicago City Officials and professionals for their contributions to the Latino community and to organ and tissue donation in Illinois. The event kicked-off National Minority Donor Awareness Week (August 1-7) which Gift of Hope paid tribute to multicultural donors and their families, and emphasized the need for minorities to register as organ and tissue donors. State Senators Iris Y. Martinez, Lisa Hernandez, and State Representative Cynthia Soto, along with President and CEO of Norwegian American Hospital Jose R. Sanchez and Dr. David Ansell, MD, MPH –senior vice president, clinical affairs and chief medical officer at Rush University Medical Center, Andrés Jaramillo, director of the Laboratory of Histocompatibility, Gift of Hope were on hand to celebrate and raise awareness.