Organ donation carnival raises awareness, funds
Fun carnival games were used to highlight a serious message Friday at the Butler County Area Vocational-Technical School.
Conceived, created and operated by Andrea Celender's health assistant classes, the Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Carnival tried to both raise awareness of the need for donations and raise money for the Governor Robert P. Casey Memorial Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Trust Fund.
Funding for the carnival came from a grant Celender received from the IU13, an education service agency delivering services to schools and communities across the state.
“I've got 40 health assistant students, but students from other shops helped too, because they made the games,” said Celender.
For instance, she said the “Operation” game was built by HVAC students while it was decorated by graphics arts students, and the cornhole donation game was built by carpentry students and illustrated by graphics arts students. Other carnival games included Organ Donation Plinko, Video Pacman, Fishing for Organs, Basket Catch and Guess That Pulse.
A table, manned by health assistant students, gathered signatures from students pledging to donate tissues or organs and handed out stress balls, pins and bracelets promoting the donation message.
Celender said tickets, either bought or won in the games could be used in an auction for 50 donated prizes. The auction results will be announced Monday.
“Three of my third-year students were tasked as their senior project to raise the prizes,” said Celender.
Money raised from the carnival would be donated to the Casey donation awareness fund, said Celender.
Taylor Keith and Carly Wehner, both third-year health assistant students from Knoch High School, were working the ticket table.
“Some of the students asked the other shops to make the games or local businesses to make donations,” said Keith. “That's how we got all the prizes.”
Wehner said, “They were really understanding when they learned the money was going to the governor's fund. A lot of people didn't question donating prizes.”
Jordan Toner and Paige Hite, both second-year health assistant students from Slippery Rock High School, were operating the Operation game, watching contestants try to remove organs from a near life-size “patient” without setting off a buzzer. Successful organ extraction won the players tickets.
Toner said, “Almost every single time someone wins a ticket.”Leah Blank, 11, was trying her luck using a metal wand to remove a lung without sounding a buzzer and lighting up the “patient's” nose.Her mother, Tonya Blank, a Butler Vo-Tech health assistant teacher, brought Leah and her brother Logan to the carnival.Tonya Blank said, “I brought them here a day after 'Bring Your Daughter to Work Day' so they could enjoy the carnival.”Carpentry students Hayden Cruz, Randy Maire and Chris Karenbauer, all of Butler High School, said their class built most of the carnival games, including the cornhole games and organ plinko.Celender said she would be taking some of the games with her to an organ and tissue donation conference at Penn State May 9.“My kids were awesome. My kids did everything they were told. They came up with their own ideas, and didn't complain about it during it,” said Celender.
