Gift8Lives' Recognition, and National Donate Life Month!
Hello everyone, and welcome to this month's blog post! As April is National Donate Life Month, we've been really busy with promoting organ donation at Troy High and throughout Southeast Michigan. Let's get right into it.
The Gift of Life Michigan Champion Award
This month, I was chosen to receive the prestigious 2019 Gift of Life Michigan Champion award for promoting organ and tissue donation in the work I do as a volunteer! I was recognized at the inaugural Gift of Life Champions Gala on Friday, April 5 at the Inn at St. John’s in Plymouth, Michigan. There, I received my award, heard about my fellow honorees in 17 other Champion categories and enjoyed a performance by Scott MacIntyre, an American Idol finalist who is a two-time kidney recipient. It was an awesome evening, which was made even better because Ms. Costello was able to attend.
Prudential Spirit of Community Award
In February, I was selected as a Distinguished Finalist for the state of Michigan in the 2019 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards. It is the United States’ largest youth recognition program based exclusively on volunteer community service. Created in 1995 by Prudential and the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), the program honors middle level and high school students for outstanding service to others at the local, state and national level.
I was recognized for my work with Gift8Lives, and increasing awareness of organ donation within my community. My name and a bio is displayed on the website here: https://spirit.prudential.com/honoree/2019/mi/amogh-gowda
Upon receiving this award, I was recognized at a TSD Board of Education Meeting, where I was presented with my medal! I'd like to thank our Gift8Lives club advisor Ms. Wyss, THS Principal Mr. Roncone, and my counselor Mr. Ali-Ahmed for their continued advice and support.
From left to right: Karl Schmidt (TSD Board President), Amogh Gowda, Nancy Philippart (TSD Board Trustee), Tom Minagawa (Prudential Representative)
Troy Somerset-Gazette Recognition
Gift8Lives was also recognized in the April 15th edition of the Troy Somerset-Gazette. I'm glad this story ran in our city newspaper so that other people can become inspired and educated to advocate for the cause of organ donation. Getting the word out about organ donation can be difficult, so having my story accessible to a wide audience in this newspaper is exciting! Here's the link to the online version of the print paper:
National Donate Life Day at our local Secretary of State Branch!
We enjoyed working with Ms. Kowalski, an Eversight Michigan volunteer! Ms. Kowalski also shared her story with us, about her late husband who donated both of his corneas to give the gift of sight to someone. Overall, it was enjoyable sparking conversations about the importance of organ donation with the people at the Troy SOS, even with those that were already signed up.
Thank you for reading this month's blog post! I hope you all enjoyed, and see you next time, in May.
