Published June 2026
HARRISBURG, PA – Donate Life Pennsylvania is proud to announce the winners of the 2026 College Challenge, an annual initiative that empowers students to help save lives by becoming advocates for organ and tissue donation on campus and in their community:
- First Place: Pennsylvania College of Technology, Wellness Committee & Nursing Students
- Honorable Mention: Susquehanna University, Paul Dannelley Chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America.
The 2026 Challenge involved students from 11 colleges and universities across Pennsylvania who organized donor registration drives, campus events and social media campaigns designed to increase awareness of organ and tissue donation and inspire action to help end the transplant waitlist by signing up as a donor.
The 2026 winning campaign was “Degrees That Work, Donors That Save,” drawn from Pennsylvania College of Technology’s mission statement of inspiring and preparing the next generation with industry-focused, real-world experience and an innovative spirit. The Challenge provided the school’s Wellness Committee and senior-level nursing students the opportunity to engage their campus and local community. Events and activities included a kickoff, Blue & Green Day, health fair, Donate Life-themed bingo, classroom visits and a pop-up table at a local fitness center.
Pennsylvania College of Technology Wellness Committee registered 219 people to become organ donors — the most of any school in the 2026 Challenge — creating the potential to save and transform thousands of lives through the gift of donation. One organ donor can save eight lives and a tissue donor can heal the lives of 100 others.
Susquehanna University’s PRSSA Chapter hosted a week-long superhero-themed campaign called “Be a Hero, Save a Life.” Activities included a fire truck event, CPR training, crafts/movie night, tabling in the student union and media outreach. A special presentation featured Michael Marvin, MD, FACS, Professor of Surgery, Chair, Department of Transplantation and Liver Surgery at Geisinger Medical Center, and liver transplant recipient Cade Hovey, a senior at Susquehanna.
Campaigns were evaluated on creativity, outreach, educational impact and donor registration results by a panel of judges made up of:
- Joy Krumenacker, a member of Pennsylvania’s Organ Donor Advisory Committee (ODAC), and mother of Eli Bussotti, who saved six lives through organ donation;
- Amanda McAlpine, Public Health Program Administrator, Pa. Department of Health Bureau of Health Promotion & Risk Reduction;
- Dwendy Johnson, Community Relations Supervisor, Gift of Life Donor Program;
- Bill Soloway, Director, Masonic Blood + Organ Donor Program; heart transplant recipient and volunteer ambassador with Gift of Life Donor Program.
The College Challenge is sponsored by Donate Life Pennsylvania, a collaborative initiative of Gift of Life Donor Program, the Center for Organ Recovery & Education (CORE), and the Pennsylvania Departments of Health, Transportation, and Education. Funded through voluntary contributions to the Governor Robert P. Casey Memorial Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Trust Fund, Donate Life Pennsylvania works to educate residents, build awareness about organ and tissue donation, and increase donor registration across the Commonwealth.
Registration for next year’s College Challenge will open in Fall 2026. For more information, visit the Donate Life Pennsylvania website at donatelifepa.org.
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