After Ty Osman’s death in 2012, the Ty2 Foundation made its goal to raise awareness for charities and organizations that greatly influenced Ty’s life. Ty2 advocates for Donate Life, a nonprofit organization that promotes organ donation.
Osman made the decision before his death to register as an organ and tissue donor. After his death, Osman’s heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, pancreas, and eyes were all donated. The Ty2 Foundation shares Osman’s story with people so they can know the good that can come from immense tragedy, and that donating organs is the ultimate gift a person can give to another.
On April 12, Ty2 will host its second annual 3-on-3 basketball tournament in honor of Ty and encourage others to make the same decision to donate life through organ donation. Junior Carly Kendrick is traveling to Nashville to be a part of the event as a volunteer worker.
“We have not forgotten who he is,” Kendrick said. “Seeing all his friends come together and honor him is really special.”
Junior Austin Messer is also traveling to Nashville to be a part of the event as a player.
“Ty played a very important role in my life, and I want to keep his legacy going,” Messer said. “I want to keep telling the story of his life and how his gift helped so many people.”
The TNT and Zeta Rho Spring Sing show has chosen to perform for the Ty2 Foundation for a second year. Osman was participating in the TNT/Zeta Rho show the semester he passed away. Junior Ben Hansen is a director for the TNT and Zeta Rho show and was also a part of the group Osman participated with.
“It’s really special for us to have a story to tell, the story about Ty, about how selfless he was and how he has taught us so much,” Hansen said. “This is (a) way for us to tell the audience his story.”
Hansen continued by saying that it is important to remember Osman because of the example of Christ he lived and still shows to those who were touched by him. When introducing the charity to the rest of the show’s participants, Hansen said it was easy for them to buy into the idea because those who knew Osman make the stories real.
“It gave them a real purpose because we have a real connection,” Hansen said “We have not forgotten him.”
The Osman family said they are without words to describe the overwhelming amount of support people continue to show.
“God has already done more than we could have ever imagined with Ty’s story,” Osman’s father, Ty, said. “We are encouraged every time we hear of how God continues to bring ‘beauty from the ashes'”
