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Educational Resources for Teachers and Students

Gift of Life Donor Program offers youth education programs to give students the information necessary to make an informed decision about donation.

Students are faced with many challenging decisions. There are over 110,000 people currently waiting for life-saving organ transplants, and education is the surest way to get more people organ transplants. When getting a drivers license for the first time, youth will be asked whether or not to register to become an organ and tissue donor. With sufficient education on the topic, students can make informed decisions on the issue. As educators, you have the unique ability to raise awareness and teach students about the important of organ and tissue donation, allowing students to make informed decisions.

Image of Students at Rowan University hold the annual Organ Donor Day on campus in 2008.

Zoom+ Students at Rowan University hold the annual Organ Donor Day on campus in 2008.

High School Education

Gift of Life Donor Program encourages high school teachers to become involved in sharing information on organ and tissue donation with their students. Here are some great suggestions for engaging students and providing them with the information necessary to make an informed decision about donation:

Invite guest speakers to visit your class to present educational information and share their personal stories of organ and tissue donation. Gift of Life can provide speakers free of charge.
Utilize informational materials to reinforce the education process.
Incorporate organ donation in your classroom curriculum using one of the curriculum guides.
Include information about organ and tissue donation at school health fairs. Gift of Life can provide you with materials to distribute during these events.
Recognize April as National Donate Life Month - an excellent time to raise awareness through holding assemblies, distributing flyers, and having events.
Encourage students needing volunteer hours to contact Gift of Life and offer to spend time working at Gift of Life or the Family House.
Attend our "Spirit for Life" Student Summits, a fun, educational one-day program where students visit Gift of Life and learn about organ and tissue donation. (For Philadelphia-area schools only.)

To schedule a program at your school, or to discuss incorporating any of these programs, please contact the Community Relations department at Gift of Life by calling 800-DONORS-1 or via e-mail.

Also, please review our High School Curriculum Guides for great information about how to work donation into your teaching plan for course material.

College Outreach

Gift of Life also works with area colleges to educate students about organ and tissue donation. Any college class, organization, or club is welcome to contact us, to offer an educational presentation or host a speaker at one of their events. Here are some suggestions of how to get involved:

Invite a guest speaker to discuss organ and tissue donation at a club or organizational meeting.
Hold a Donor Registration Drive on campus with tabling events where students can register onsite to become organ and tissue donors.
Adopt organ donation as a special cause for your organization. Continue to promote organ donation throughout the year at all of your events.
Participate in Donate Life Month in April – a perfect time to host events on campus. Gift of Life can assist you by providing materials, giveaways, and speakers for your events.
Start a Gift of Life Club at your college or university to specifically raise awareness about organ and tissue donation. Gift of Life can help you with the process.
Follow the Gift of Life on Facebook and Twitter to receive updates on new programs and activities.
Encourage your college newspaper to print a story about organ and tissue donation and how to become involved on your campus.
Create a team to participate in the Gift of Life Donor Dash in April.

For examples of how college students have become involved with organ and tissue donation, please look at the American Marketing Association campaign, "AMASavesLives" at www.amasaveslives.com. Nationwide, college students have involved the AMA to raise awareness and encourage their peers to sign up to become organ donors. The video below was created by a local AMA Chapter, and is a great example of how college students can use their creativity to help spread the word about donation.

AMA Saves Lives "Missing a Kidney"

Additional Materials for Teachers and Students

Gift of Life can help students and teachers by providing resources and curriculum enhancements to make teaching and learning about organ and tissue donation a success! Gift of Life has pamphlets, brochures, and other reading materials that can be distributed to students and staff. In addition, we have giveaways such as our popular green "Donate Life" bracelets and bumper stickers that can be handed out around campuses. Gift of Life staff members can give an educational presentation to a classroom or organization, as well as have one of our volunteers, who are often organ recipients or donor family members, share their personal stories about organ and tissue donation. Additionally, we have several media resources for your classroom. For example, Gift of Life worked with ESPN to share the story of Jason Ray, the former mascot for the University of North Carolina. Ray became an organ donor and was able to save several lives, when the Ray family generously said "yes" to donation. Click here to share the Jason Ray story with your classroom.

Donors Are Heroes Grant Program

Donors Are Heroes, a Gift of Life volunteer committee, awards grants to teachers and schools for educational initiatives about organ and tissue donation (OTD) projects. We are pleased to award up to $5,000 per project to 10 Philadelphia high schools. Public, charter, private, or parochial schools are all eligible and encouraged to apply for a grant. During the 2010-2011 school year, more than $35,000 was distributed to local schools.

High schools across the Philadelphia region have undertaken innovative and creative projects to promote organ donation. Often, Health teachers spearhead the initiative with an OTD project, however, Gift of Life encourages teachers from other disciplines to become involved as well. In the past, Health, Art, and Science teachers have worked together to successfully create projects ranging from poster displays to video presentations.

"Spirit for Life" Student Summits

Zoom+ Students from Mastbaum High School in Philadelphia at the 2011 "Spirit for Life" Student Summit.

Spirit for Life" Student Summits offer high school teachers and students a unique and exciting day of workshops designed to train students as ambassadors for organ and tissue donation. Funded by a generous grant from Donors Are Heroes, these Summits are open to all area high schools (public, charter, parochial, or private) and not limited to Philadelphia County. During the Summit students have the opportunity to listen to personal stories of donor families and transplant recipients, watch educational presentations, and participate in organ donation-themed activities. Contact Gift of Life's Community Education Coordinator Todd Franzen at 215-557-8090, ext. 1173 or via e-mail.

Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness (OTDA)

The mission of the Organ Tissue Donation Awareness Project (OTDA) is to implement organ/tissue donation and transplantation education in Pennsylvania's secondary schools. To this end, OTDA now provides a step-by-step toolkit and guide for secondary education teachers to implement in various classes across the curriculum. The toolkit includes PowerPoint presentations, video downloads, photographs, and access to a listserv. The OTDA Education Project gives teachers concrete tools to provide students with in-depth knowledge and skills needed to understand the donation process.

Contact Todd Franzen to arrange for a speaker for your school or to get more information about this life-saving educational program.