In-Person Education Events | SODA: Student Organ Donation Advocates

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In-Person Education Events and Registration Drives

Ready to educate your peers and community about organ, eye, and tissue donation? Read this guide to start brainstorming your next in-person education event or registration drive.

SODA 101

Activities Fair: Participate in your school's activities fair. Attract students to your table by asking questions like, “Do you know about organ donation?" and "Are you interested in saving lives?". Get their email address or phone number and follow-up immediately after the event.

Introductory Meeting: Prepare a presentation to introduce your chapter's leadership team & discuss the importance of organ, eye, and tissue donation. Get to know your attendees through icebreaker questions like, “Why are you interested in being a part of SODA?” and “What does organ donation mean to you?”. Explore our customizable Templates for Social Media Posts, Flyers, and Presentations for inspiration.

Organ Donation Training: Your local Organ Procurement Organization (OPO) should be able to provide organ donation training. 👩‍🏫 Training ensures that you can properly educate other students about organ donation & register them as donors. If you have trouble setting up this training, please email students@sodanational.org for assistance.

Class Lecture: Ask a science or health professor if you can present about SODA and organ donation to their class briefly at the beginning or end of their class. 🧬

Snack with SODA

Donuts and Donors: Combine a delicious treat with the opportunity to learn about organ, eye, and tissue donation and register as a donor. 🍩

Pizza and Perspectives: Invite a guest speaker with a personal connection to donation to attend a panel or discussion session. 🍕 Your local Organ Procurement Organization (OPO) is a great resource for finding local guest speakers! If you need help getting in touch with your OPO, please email students@sodanational.org for assistance.

Lights, Camera, Donate: Watch a movie or documentary about organ, eye, and tissue donation. 🍿 We recommend 2Hearts (1 hour 40 minutes), Living with Kidney Failure (40 minutes), and We Speak Life (15 minutes).

Bake a Difference: Invite your peers to decorate cookies while discussing the importance of organ, eye, and tissue donation.

Sodas for SODA: Distribute sodas to students who are interested in learning more about organ, eye, and tissue donation. 🥤

Interactive Events

Photo Campaign: In a populated area, have students fill in the blank on a whiteboard or poster board. Example prompts include “I support organ donation because…”, “Organ donation means…”, “I am a registered organ donor because…”. 📸 Post the pictures on your social media and tag @sodanational and your Organ Procurement Organization (OPO).

Finger Painting: Write out myths, misunderstandings, & facts about organ donation. Use colorful stamp pads and ask people to use their fingers to paint the statements they think are true with one color and false with another color. After they stamp, tell them what is true/false. 🤳Take pictures and post them on social media.

Raffle and Board Games: Attract students to your event by having a raffle or board game available to those interested in learning about organ donation and SODA. 💸 Remember, SODA will fund up to $50 per event for raffle prizes, games, and additional supplies.

Better Together

Volunteer Events: Contact your local Organ Procurement Organization (OPO) or National Kidney Foundation (NKF) to learn about volunteer opportunities. 📣 Advertise the event on your campus & wear SODA merch.

Blood Drive: Partner with a local blood drive to promote SODA and organ donation. 🩸 Share donation-related information with blood drive participants and provide them with take-home pamphlets, flyers, and other handouts.

Door Decorating Contest: Organize a friendly competition for your school or Greek Life community, offering prizes for the class or organization that has the most creative organ donation-related door decorations.

In-Person Education Event Planning Timeline

A few months before the event:

Decide on the event topic, format, and target audience
Notify your Organ Procurement Organization (OPO) about the event
Invite potential guest speakers and propose dates/times
Secure a space and check the school calendar for conflicts

A few weeks before the event:

Request funding and supplies from SODA National
Plan your marketing strategy (class announcements, flyers, social media, etc.) and encourage other campus organizations to promote your event

A week before the event:

Execute your marketing strategy
Create a sign-in form: tinyurl.com/sodasignin
Prepare talking points and discussion questions, if applicable

Day of the event:

Arrive 15-30 minutes early to set up
Have fun and take pictures! Post them to your Instagram account, tagging @sodanational and your OPO

After the event:

Use the contact information in the sign-in form to follow up with students who might be interested in joining SODA about upcoming activities

Registration Drive

Many of our student leaders set up tables in busy campus areas during regular school days or special events. 🌟 Tabling is a fantastic way to educate people about the importance of organ, eye, and tissue donation, register new donors, and promote SODA.

SODA students have extended tabling efforts beyond campus to various community settings like state fairs, sporting events, and malls. When planning your event, consider these high-traffic locations to maximize impact.

In-Person Registration Drive Planning Timeline

A few weeks before tabling:

Confirm Table Setup with School Administration: Email your school to see if it’s okay to set up a table on a particular day or use your school's portal to reserve a space on campus.
Notify your OPO about the Event: Let your OPO know you’ll be tabling so they can help you. If you or anyone else who will be tabling hasn’t already been through their volunteer training program, ask if they will be hosting a volunteer training session before your event.
Begin Finding Volunteers: Create a sign-up form for chapter leaders and members to manage the table for 1 or 2 hour shifts. We recommend having at least two people at the table at all times.
Set A Goal: We suggest that each SODA chapter register 30 people per semester as organ and tissue donors. Make this goal more manageable by making smaller goals for each event. This will motivate your volunteers to talk to as many people as possible. If you’re not affiliated with a chapter, try to register about 10 people at your event.
Request Supply Refills: If you’re running low on supplies (like t-shirts, stickers, buttons, and more), submit a request for a refill at least two weeks before the event is scheduled to take place.
Submit A Funding Request: Do you want to buy snacks to attract people to your table? Are there costs associated with having a table on campus? Do you want art supplies to create posters? SODA will help you with these expenses if you submit a request at least two weeks before your event is scheduled to take place.

💡 Some SODA chapters have volunteer and/or event coordinators on their leadership team/executive board who manage registration drives. Consider adding this role to your team if you need extra help planning and executing your tabling event.

A few days before tabling:

Remind Your Volunteers: In an email or text, remind your volunteers that your tabling event is just around the corner.
Invite Your Friends: Post on social media or hang flyers around campus to let everyone know you’ll be tabling soon.

👀 Looking for more volunteers? Check out our top tips for finding other students to join you.

The day before tabling:

Arrange Supplies Pick-Up: Meet up with the people who will be at the table during the first shift to give them your tabling supplies.
Confirm Your Volunteers: Send one last reminder to your volunteers to make sure they will be able to table during their shift.

Right before tabling:

Set Up Your Table: Wear your SODA t-shirts, display the blue tablecloth and SODA table runner, and lay out your giveaway items (food, stickers, buttons, Lifesavers, etc.) to entice people to come to your table.
Make Registering Easy: We recommend having a computer or tablet on your table with your RegisterMe.org campaign pulled up so you can easily track how many people are registering because of your efforts.

🤝 Did you know that, in addition to SODA supplies, you can ask your OPO for OPO-branded or Donate Life-branded materials?

During tabling:

Track Your Impact: Anyone you talk to while you’re tabling counts as someone you've educated about organ, eye, and tissue donation, and anyone who registers, either using your RegisterMe.org campaign or any other registry, counts as someone you have registered. We will ask you how many people you have educated and registered at the end of each semester so keep track now!
Engage in Respectful Conversations: See our FAQ on how to educate people about donation while you’re tabling. Have your volunteers read these FAQs before they begin tabling so they’re prepared.
Take Pictures: We love to see your events! Either post your pictures on social media and tag @sodanational or email the pictures to us at students@sodanational.org.

After tabling

Clean Up: Make sure to clean up your space and return it to its original condition. Arrange your supplies to be returned to the person who stores them if they were not part of the last tabling shift.
Share Your Impact: Let your OPO know how many people you educated and registered. They’re going to be proud!
Thank Your Volunteers: Your event would not have been possible without the people who volunteered to manage the table and have conversations with your community. Send a thank you email or text after the event to let them know you’re grateful for their help.