Students Spread Awareness Through Gift of Life Challenge

By Ryan Sophabmixay, Student Correspondent

The waiting list for organ transplants continues to grow each day. As of March, more than 103,000 patients awaited aid. To raise awareness of the organ shortage, University of Scranton communication and media students recently participated in the Gift of Life College Challenge, a national competition that encourages students to organize virtual and on-campus outreach efforts to register organ, tissue and cornea donors. Students in a Social Media Campaigns class led by Dr. Brian Snee, associate professor in the Communications and Media Department, were tasked with creating campaigns to encourage support for the cause.

The class usually includes a community-based learning component, with many assignments focused on assisting local businesses and nonprofit organizations. On Feb. 14, National Donor Day, Dr. Snee announced to his students the start of the Gift of Life College Challenge.

“This is the first national competition that I've had a class participate in since I joined the faculty in 2020. We had a lot of options, but this challenge seemed to fit perfectly with the Ignatian mission of the University,” Dr. Snee said.

To ensure campaigns reached as many people as possible, the class divided into three groups, two ground teams and one social media team, with equal responsibility for spreading awareness of their message. The ground teams focused on organizing and hosting on-campus events, and the social media team publicized events and managed the online presence.

Shannon Bunn ’24, social media team leader, described a few of their campaigns.

“One campaign we designed was 'Fact Friday.' Every Friday we would come up with new facts about organ and tissue donations to post on our social platforms. We also have a testimonial campaign. The testimonials are a little more difficult to do in the short amount of time we have since we have to reach out, wait for a response, and then put together material,” Bunn said.

One testimonial features a parent of high school junior Anthony Penna, who in his passing gave the gift of life to others. To view the testimonial, use the link here.

On-campus work also played a key role in the Gift of Life challenge. Students involved in the ground teams have put together a variety of events to reach out to potential donors. Some events include rock painting, table sits and a cornhole tournament. Siena Testa ’25 described the overall effectiveness and success of the planned events and media campaigns thus far.

“Our on-campus events have been very successful. We had a good number of students at each event. We have also found success on TikTok and a growing number of likes the more we posted on Instagram,” Testa said.

Lack of funding and time became an issue throughout the campaign process. While some ideas were abbreviated, each member of the campaign team played a part in making each event possible. 

“Our campaign has struggled in funding for campus events and the table sits. While this was an issue, members of the campaign team put in their own money for collecting supplies and we had fundraisers, which have both helped ...” Jason Opferman '24, said.

“A social media campaign takes time, effort, communication and planning to occur. But each of our groups brainstormed, reached out to strategic partners in our community, and developed some great content for the Gift of Life Foundation.”   

The challenge is set to conclude on Friday, April 26. Participating students said they have enjoyed the experience and are pleased with the outcome. Molly Veres ’24 described how it felt to create awareness for a powerful cause. 

“Most of us at The University of Scranton are in such a fortunate position that we are able to advocate for those who need organ transplants. It’s rewarding to know that our campaign is making a difference and ultimately may end up saving lives. It doesn’t take too much time or effort to have a positive impact on others, and it is all worth it. It feels good to know you are doing good for others,” Veres said.

Currently in the evaluation phase, the content will be submitted by students to the Gift of Life organization on May 3. Dr. Snee described how impressed he was by the class performance and hopes his students will continue using social media and their skills to change the world for the better.

“I did not anticipate just how many signatures they would collect. I'm as impressed with the students as I am grateful to those who pledged to save lives,” Dr. Snee said.

“Social media gets a lot of negative attention, but it can be used to do very good, very selfless things.”

Learn more about The Gift of Life College Challenge

For those interested in learning more or becoming an organ donor, find details and register here. 

The Gift of Life is a nonprofit, federally designated organ procurement organization serving the eastern half of Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware.