On Thursday, April 22 the UW Oshkosh chapter of Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) treated UWO students and staff with donuts as part of their annual National Organ Donation Awareness Competition (NODAC) campaign.

The event, held in Reeve, was on behalf of non-profit organization Donate Life to advocate for national organ donation.

With the phrase, “Donut Forget to Donate,” printed across gift bags of donut holes, UWO PRSSA encouraged students and faculty members to take a pledge to sign up as national organ donors.

Students who stopped to learn about national organ donation and took the pledge to sign up as a donor not only received their donuts, but were also entered in a gift-card giveaway to take place at the end of the month.

In past years, the organization has successfully placed in the month-long competition and is finishing strong on this year’s April campaign.

This year’s campaign has consisted of sharing the stories of organ donors “gifting a moment” to someone in need as well as educating the community about the need for organ donation.

Set to be next year’s PRSSA president, UWO junior Justine Eron said, “We look at NODAC as a way to increase awareness about national organ donation rather than just state-wide.”

Eron and the other members of PRSSA are trying to inform the public that to register as a national donor instead of only state-wide, extra steps need to be taken.

Shared in the campaign, a Central Wisconsin Gift of Life page member, Alison Snortheim, took the time to share how an organ transplant saved her life.

“Someone took a moment so I could have another moment with my two beautiful children and my husband and the rest of the family,” Snortheim said.

Snortheim was able to spend more time with her friends and family after her sister donated a kidney to her.

While the campaign highlights inspiring experiences, informing people about the importance of organ donation can be difficult.

UWO senior Megan Sullivan, responsible for running the NODAC campaign as VP of Events, revealed, “It’s a tough topic to talk about…no one wants to talk about death.”

According to Donate Life, more than 100,000 men, women and children are on the waiting list for an organ transplant that could save their lives.

However, with more community members learning about organ donation and taking the pledge to become national organ donors, this number can begin to drop.

“Organ donation is beautiful in a way that your legacy gets to live on through other people,” Sullivan said. “If we can raise awareness in our community, we can create a ripple effect and save as many lives as possible.”