HIGH POINT, N.C., Oct. 31, 2011 – Megan Kurtzman, a junior at High Point University, is challenging the HPU campus as well as the community to get involved in a cause that is very dear to her heart – the Donate Life Campus Challenge. A series of events will be held beginning today through Nov. 4.
Kurtzman, along with HPU, has teamed up with Carolina Donor Services to host an organ donation drive in honor of her childhood friend, Heather Ann Ricci, who lost her life 10 years ago in a car wreck. Ricci’s parents were able to save five other lives by donating her heart, lung, liver and both kidneys.
The goal of the competition is to get as many people as possible to pledge to become organ donors in North Carolina and to become the school with the most registered organ donors. HPU will be competing against other N.C. schools.
HPU students can participate by signing a pledge on campus, but the community can go online to sign the pledge at http://www.donatelifenc.org/. Click on “Donor Registry” to get to the form. At the bottom of the form, in the “How did you hear about us?” drop down menu, select “Special Events,” then “High Point University College Campus Challenge 2011.”
“Heather’s birthday is Aug. 29, and mine is Sept. 2,” Kurtzman says. “I wanted to do something in memory of her life 10 years later – for both of our 20th birthdays.”
“Students are able to register as an organ donor in North Carolina even if they are already registered in their home state,” she adds. “For most of us who attend HPU, we live here instead of our home state for eight months out of the year.”
Events scheduled throughout the week include:
– Oct. 31 through Nov. 4, registration tables will be set up outside of the Slane Center Cafe for HPU students.
– Nov. 1, registration tables will be set up outside of the Men’s Soccer game. This event is open to the public.
– Nov. 2, students will be able to register during a showing of “Seven Pounds” in the Extraordinaire Cinema in the University Center. Following the movie, students will get to hear a personal and touching story about organ donation from Brian Avery, who received Ricci’s heart.
Kurtzman hopes Ricci’s story will not only help HPU win the Campus Challenge, but more importantly, save more lives.
“The concept is simple – it’s giving the gift of life,” says Kurtzman. “If it wasn’t for my friend Heather’s organs, five other people wouldn’t be here today.”
At High Point University, every student receives an extraordinary education in an inspiring environment with caring people.℠ HPU, located in the Piedmont Triad region of North Carolina, is a liberal arts institution with over 4,200 undergraduate and graduate students from 51 countries and 46 states at campuses in High Point and Winston-Salem. It is ranked by US News and World Report at No. 3 among Regional Colleges in the South. Forbes.com ranks HPU in the top 7 percent among “America’s Best Colleges.” Parade Magazine lists HPU in the top 25 private schools in the nation. HPU was selected in the 2010-2011 list of “Colleges of Distinction,” as well as one of the top green schools in the country by the Sierra Club. The university offers 50 undergraduate majors, 43 undergraduate minors and 10 graduate degree programs. It is accredited by the Commission of Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and is a member of the NCAA, Division I and the Big South Conference. Visit High Point University on the Web at highpoint.edu.
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Pam Haynes
Communication Specialist
336-841-9055
[email protected]