Students Save Lives at Arcadia University
In the Spring of 2021, the students who ran 1853 Communications participated in the Gift of Life College Challenge, a challenge designed to engage local college students in the process of registering new organ donors and spreading the word about the crucial need for organ and tissue donation. In order to earn points, they threw virtual events, designed a social media campaign, and won second place–$500–in the competition! This money was crucial for the next few years, as the firm is pro bono and self-sufficient. You can win by earning the highest amount of points–which is our goal this year. As the current co-director of the firm, I always looked forward to participating in this challenge, but we’ve had many clients reaching out to us in the past few years, so we simply didn’t have the time to put our all into this project.
But this spring, the firm is participating in the competition for the second time! We are attempting to place even higher than our second place prize and win the $1,000 prize. I am particularly passionate about winning because this is my last semester. I have always stood by the thought that I want to leave Arcadia better than I found it, and since 1853 Communications has such a big piece of my heart, I want to make sure that the students behind me are ready and have the support they need to move forward.
This semester, we are launching a campaign called Food for Thought: U-Knight to Save Lives! There are weekly donor drives that include free food and important information about organ donation in the Chat. These will happen on Tuesdays, 4-5 p.m. So far, we have passed out muffins on National Muffin Day, chocolate covered strawberries on National Strawberry Day, and Cheese Doodles on National Cheese Doodles Day! There are many more that are coming up, which we will be posting on our Instagram (@1853communications_pr). So far, we’ve signed up one donor and passed out literature to over 30 people!
This campaign will culminate in a large special event, taking place on Haber Green on April 9, from 4 to 5 p.m. We have spent most of the semester doing outreach to local restaurants and have scored two gift cards from Trevi and Humpty’s Dumplings to raffle off, but we aren’t stopping there. This event will have everything: rock painting, friendship bracelet making, food, and cute animals. I am so happy that my last event with 1853 is going to be so large and for such a good cause.
Winners of the Gift of Life College Challenge will be announced on May 14 on Donate Life’s social platforms. Fingers crossed that we win! How can you help? Follow along on Instagram and attend our donor drives and events when you can!
