Written by Zoe Engels, Contributing Writer and Editor
In 2024, SODA surpassed 100 chapters (well ahead of schedule!) on campuses nationwide, and we couldn’t have done it without the support of our partners and supporters like YOU!
We’re thrilled to share that the Contigo Foundation has pledged $450K toward organ, eye and tissue donation advocacy and education to support our quickly growing chapter network. The contribution of $150K annually for the next three years will go directly to SODA, allowing us to continue growing and even better support our chapters and student organ donation advocates nationwide.
Since the Contingo Foundation’s first gift to SODA in 2020, SODA’s impact has quadrupled, expanding from 20 chapters to more than 100 in 2024. These 100+ chapters have registered 9,466 people as donors and educated 150,084 people about the importance of organ, eye, and tissue donation—an 18.5 percent increase in registration and 97 percent increase in education from 2022-2023 to 2023-2024!
Did you know?: SODA’s life-saving advocacy helps reduce the organ shortage for the 103,000+ Americans currently waiting for a transplant.
Leslie Bacardi of the Contigo Foundation has experienced the life-saving impact of organ donation firsthand. Her husband, Jorge, suffered from a congenital disease called primary ciliary dyskinesia. It prevents mucus from clearing out of the lungs, sinuses, and middle ears.
Jorge and Leslie Bacardi
At age 64, Jorge received a double lung transplant, allowing him to take his first full breath of air. Because of the transplant, he was able to live 12 more years, until he passed in September 2020.
His life-saving donor was Christopher Mark Gregory, a 19-year-old student who had suffered a fatal brain aneurysm.
Even before Jorge learned Christopher’s name, he wrote a letter to express his gratitude to the Gregory family. In it, he called Christopher, “Gabriel,” his guardian angel.
“The gift [of organ donation] isn’t for just one single person,” Leslie previously told SODA’s founder, Sara Royf, in a video call. She described the domino effect of organ donation—impacting the recipient, their family, and their community at large.
Since Jorge’s passing, she has continued to support organ, eye, and tissue donation. The powerful movie, 2 Hearts, details their real-life story. The movie, available on Netflix, tells of how two couples a world apart are connected through organ donation.
A 2 Hearts promotional image
Read our blog about 2 Hearts and watch the video conversation between Leslie and Sara here.
Bonus: check out our list of the top 5 movies about organ donation, which also features 2 Hearts.
“Congratulations on all that you have been able to accomplish for the world of organ donation,” Leslie told Sara and SODA’s Program Director, Nicole Nidea, in a recent email on behalf of the Contigo Foundation. “We [feel] … confident that you will continue to grow and bring organ donation to the forefront. I feel sure that my husband Jorge would be thoroughly pleased with all that SODA has done to educate and sign up organ donors. We hope that with this gift you will be able to pass your goal and look forward to the next 100 chapters.”
Thank you to the Contigo Foundation and to all our supporters—we truly couldn’t do it without YOU! Here’s to reaching more milestones in 2025.
To learn how you can support SODA, visit https://www.sodanational.org/donate.