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MARIETTA, Ga. - A local hair salon owner is going the extra mile to help a foundation near and dear to his heart.
Lester Crowell knows all too well what it means to be in need of a new organ.
"I am on my second heart," Lester Crowell said. "I've had two heart transplants."
The Three 13 Spa, Salon and Boutique owner said when he was in the hospital after his second transplant he knew he wanted to do something to help others facing similar medical issues.
"It's a hard, scary process and I want to help others so I started the Angels of Life Hair and Fashion show benefiting the Georgia Transplant Foundation," Crowell said.
In eight years, Crowell has helped raise $375,000 for the foundation.
"This year we are trying to get that number to half a million dollars," Crowell said.
Crowell said he does it for people like Kinsley Stevenson and Joe Isakson.
Kinsley was only two and a half when her heart started failing.
"It was a scary time for us and when we got the call that she was getting a new heart it was incredibly sad because we knew that another family lost their baby," Mary Beth Stevenson, Kinsley's mom, said. "We are incredibly grateful for the gift of life that family gave us."
Joe Isakson has a different organ transplant story. Piedmont Hospital made history when Joe became the first person to get a new organ from a living donor.
"Paul not only saved my life but he saved others because that means someone else can get another heart too," Joe Isakson said. "Organ donation is so important. I wouldn't be alive if it weren't for my donor."
For more information on this weekend's event visit: http://three-13.com/