When Kristy Christie’s 11-year-old daughter, Keira, died suddenly in 2018 from an asthma attack, she never imagined that she would eventually channel her grief into a fundraising effort for organ donation awareness through Lifebanc—Northeast Ohio’s nonprofit organ and tissue recovery organization for more than 80 hospitals and two transplant centers.

Since 2018, Christie and a group of friends and family have made a lasting impact by raising nearly $150,000 for Lifebanc for the organization’s annual Gift of Life Walk & Run as Team Kini Bini, Keira’s nickname—returning each year to celebrate Keira’s legacy.

This year’s event will be held Sunday, August 10, at the Porthouse Theatre on the grounds of Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls.

Although it was heartbreaking to lose her daughter, Christie has ensured that positive elements come out of Keira’s death. One of the first, and most impactful, ways Christie has kept her promise donating Keira’s organs to Lifebanc.

“I told her before they took her away to surgery that I would make sure everyone knows who she is and knows her name,” Christie recalls.

“Keira donated her liver and both kidneys—so there were three recipients,” she continues, adding that she has developed a close friendship with Joslynn, who, at age nine, received Keira’s liver.

“We're actually super close with each other—we see each other four or five times a year," she says. “A 74-year-old woman in Michigan received her right kidney, and a 70-year-old man received her left kidney,” says Christie. “Her corneas and heart went to research.”

Keira’s name lives on

Christie beams with pride when she talks about her daughter, noting that Keira enjoyed making videos on Musical.ly (“It’s like TikTok, before TikTok was a thing,” says Christie), and she liked going to Friday night high school football games with her friends.

“School was definitely Keira’s social hour,” laughs Christie. “She wasn’t sure what she wanted to be when she grew up, but we all know that she would have totally been an influencer of some sort!”

In keeping with her promise to ensure everyone knows Keira’s name and who she is, Christie made the decision seven years ago to participate in the Gift of Life Walk & Run, and she’s never looked back.

It all started when Christie’s friend, Elisa Grecar, suggested that creating a team in Keira’s name would be a great way to honor Keira’s legacy.

“She was like, ‘Let’s try to raise $2,000.’ I thought that was insane,” recalls Christie. “But that first year we raised like $22,000.”

Since then, every year Team Kini Bini has remained a top fundraiser at the event, sometimes collecting more than $40,000 in a single year. They’ve now raised just under $150,000 for Lifebanc’s mission to save and heal lives through organ, eye, and tissue donation.

A memorable reunion

Joslynn, the nine-year-old who received Keira’s liver, is a regular team member. “She’s 17 now—bratty teenager, you know, all that stuff.” Christie laughs. “But it’s nice to see her. She does cheerleading and she does softball, and it's nice to see her be able to do all these activities that she wasn't able to do before.”

Each August, Joslynn and her family travel from out of state to join Team Kini Bini and spend the weekend camping nearby to celebrate the gift that ties them together.

“It's a really nice event,” says Christie. “They have music playing, a nice little ceremony. One year we let off butterflies. One year they let off doves. It’s just a nice little ‘everyone comes together’ type of ceremony.”

Participants gather in matching team shirts—Team Kini Bini wears bright orange. Friendly rivalries have formed over the years among the top fundraising teams. Supporters can donate to Team Kini Bini.

“Once a year, we come back and we kind of make it like a friendly competition, like, ‘Let’s see who can raise the most money this year,’” she said. “It's always like the same top five-ish teams we’re competing against. Not meaning to be, but just to put a little fun into it.”

Christie has never lost sight of why she does it. “I always said that I wanted to give back to Lifebanc,” she said. “Because I’m able to see this young girl grow up, and everything.”

Lifebanc’s Gift of Life Walk & Run is more than just a race—it’s a reunion of donor families and transplant recipients, a reminder of lives saved, and a powerful celebration of legacy, resilience, and hope.

“Why take them with you?” Christie says of organ donation. “It’s nice to see someone living because of what you chose to do.”

The Porthouse Theatre is a new location for the Gift of Life Walk & Run, moving from the Blossom grounds to allow for more space in a natural setting, while preserving favorite traditions like T-shirt Row, the Kids Zone, and the emotional centerpiece: the Legacy Garden.

Although there may be some alterations, the roads within Blossom for the course will still be used.

The event and registration opens at 7:30 a.m. The walk and 5K run begin at 9 a.m. Registration for the August 10 event is $40.

Walk & Run participants can choose from two distances: the one-mile Family Fun Walk or the 5K race. Participants can Register as an individual or a team. People can also Register as a donor, donate to a specific fundraising team, individual fundraiser, or donate to Lifebanc in general.