Montana ‘Campus Challenge’ Registers Hundreds of Organ Donors
-Top Schools in ‘Challenge’ Announced-
(serve.mt.gov)
Helena, MT - The Governor’s Office of Community Service (serve.mt.gov) announced today that 682 citizens registered their organ, eye and tissue donation wishes as part of the ‘Donate Life Today’ Montana college and university campus registration challenge. This year’s challenge posted the highest overall total of registrations, since the annual campus challenge started in 2007.
“We applaud our Campus Corps members, college students and the public for participating in the ‘Donate Life Today’ challenge,” said Jan Lombardi, Director of the Governor’s Office of Community Service.”I congratulate our campuses for registering the most donation wishes in history of the campus challenge.”
The ‘Donate Life Today’ challenge is a partnership with the Governor’s Office of Community Service, Montana Campus Compact (mtcompact.org), the state’s largest higher education network and host organization of the Campus Corps- AmeriCorps program (mtcampuscorps.org), and ‘Donate Life Today’ (donatelifetoday.com) the organ, eye, and tissue donor registry for Montana.
Seventeen Montana college campuses, led by Montana Campus Corps-AmeriCorps members, competed to register the most organ, eye and tissue donations during the month of April. The campuses competed in three categories based on campus size.
Campus Challenge winners:
· Rocky Mountain College (small campus)
· The University of Montana Western (medium campus)
· UM-Missoula (large campus)
“Up to 50 people can have their lives saved or improved by just one donor,” said Josh Vanek, Network Services Director for Montana Campus Compact. “I’m excited to see how our Campus Corps members mobilized students and the public, in person, and through new technologies like twitter, facebook and texting to make an actual difference by registering so many donation wishes.”
Winners of the Registry Challenge will receive a $500 donation that can be used for hosting a campus-community volunteer recognition event or may be donated to a local charity aligned with the mission of ‘Donate Life Today’.
“I was really impressed at our campus in helping set an overall statewide record this year,” said Jon Stephani, Campus Corps team leader at the University of Montana Western. “We’re donating our $500 dollars to the Beaverhead County Humane Society for their program to rehabilitate dogs as pet companions for people with disabilities.”
UM-Missoula and Rocky Mountain College will be hosting campus-community volunteer recognition events.
In 2009, 63 lives were saved by 15 Montana organ donors. One donor can make a profound impact on the lives of countless others who are waiting for transplants.
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