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“Wrapped in love”

There’s a saying in the Black community that “you are wrapped up in love.”

“We wrap ourselves around each other and support each other,” said Miriam Moore, talking with twin sister Marion Shuck. Marion is the Executive Vice President of Governmental Relations and External Affairs at Gift of Hope, which has touched the extended family in a myriad of ways.

The sisters are certain their lives look very different because of Marion’s employment at Gift of Hope. They felt a special kind of love after Marion’s husband Reggie passed and the family made the decision to authorize tissue donation. Marion’s colleagues at Gift of Hope “made us feel loved and supported through all of that. Our grief was so profound, but we felt so well taken care of.”

When Marion made her career change in 2009 from the corporate world, her grandfather voiced some concerns based on the history of unethical medical treatments of Black men and women. His attitude changed when the sisters’ aunt received a double lung transplant.

Those long-held misconceptions continue to motivate Marion to ensure that people in marginalized communities understand the benefits of donor registration. She oversees and develops relationships with healthcare, educational, religious, civic and social organizations and with donor families, communities and other partners to increase organ, eye and tissue donation.

“My mission is to be able to educate folks,” said Marion. “When I started at Gift of Hope, there were 120,000 people waiting for transplants and 63 percent were people of color.”

From her experience with her late husband, Marion not only “talks the talk, but I can walk the walk with other donor families. I understand what donor families go through and how we extend grace.”