Alpha Chi Rho fraternity—more familiarly known as Crows—held its first ever Donate Life 5K event on Friday April 15. The event raised awareness for organ donation; a cause that many people know about, but aren’t fully educated on. Donate Life is a nonprofit organization that seeks to raise mindfulness for organ donation. By signing up to become an organ donor, one has the potential to save up to eight lives. “We’re trying to create awareness,” sophomore Chris Bonadonna said. “We believe that everyone should be an organ donor because after you die, you have no use for your organs anymore.”
The community service chair of Crows, sophomore Benjamin Smith organized the event after months of planning. Smith has a very personal connection to Donate Life—he has been involved with it for almost three years.
“When my father died, my family decided to donate what organs he was able to,” Smith said. “We soon were contacted by Donate Life to represent the New York region for the Donate Life float for the Rose Parade. My father had a floragraph made for him and my family.”
Donate Life is an organization that Smith and the rest of his fraternity firmly support. By spreading awareness on the cause, Smith noted that he hopes to register as many people for organ donation as possible.
“For me, organ donation is a simple choice; you don’t need your organs when you die and you can help save someone’s life. [Organ donation] is also supported by all major religions and an open casket is possible,” Smith said. “For these reasons, I think everyone should be an organ donor. That is why I decided to host this event—to raise awareness and try to sign as many people up to be organ donors as possible.”
A small donation fee of $5 was charged to register as a runner, but donations were open to non-runners as well. In addition to raising money, a table was set up in the MacVittie College Union a week prior to the event to register people as organ donors.
Junior TJ Hickey explained that he is a strong advocate for Donate Life and is proud to be part of an organization that supports such a worthy cause.
“I myself am a registered organ donor; I think it’s something everyone should do,” he said. “While I can’t speak for everyone [in this fraternity], there is a general consensus that everyone does truly believe in it.”
The Donate Life 5K not only raised awareness and money for organ donation, but also took crucial action in registering people as organ donors.
While this was the first time Crows held a Donate Life 5K, the positive reception surrounding this year’s event points toward the event becoming an annual tradition for the fraternity.