The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse’s Eta Sigma Gamma-Beta Phi chapter hosted their 10th annual GLOGA event Tuesday, Nov. 12, in the Bluffs Ballroom in the Student Union.
Eta Sigma Gamma, a health education honorary for students within the public health and community health education major, has hosted the event since 2015 in honor of Emily Lyons, a UWL student who passed away in March of that year.
Lyons’ mother, Dawn Lyons-Wood, spoke at the event about her daughter’s story and the importance of organ and tissue donation. On Feb. 28, 2015, Lyons was in a snowmobile accident. Lyons’ family was informed that she did not have any brain activity on March 1 and would not be coming home.
When she was 16, Lyons chose to register as an organ donor. Lyons-Wood was thankful her daughter had made her own choice and knew she needed to fulfill her wishes.
“Emily saved the lives of six people. She gave sight to two people in Wisconsin and she improved the lives of over 60 people in 22 different states with her tissue donation,” said Lyons-Wood. “It is exactly what she would have wanted.”
Lyons-Wood was inspired by her daughter’s decision and became heavily involved in organ and tissue donation. She became a certified volunteer for the UW Organ and Tissue Donation service and the Lions Eye Bank of Wisconsin, joined her local Lions club and began to raise money and awareness for organ and tissue donation. She said that GLOGA was the type of event her daughter would have loved.
GLOGA, which stands for “glow-in-the-dark yoga”, was started by Eta Sigma Gamma members who wanted to create an event that would be a fundraiser for organ and tissue donation in honor of Lyons, who had ties to the public health and community health education department.
MJ Baumann and Ellie Lombardo, co-presidents of Eta Sigma Gamma, explained that this year’s fundraiser looked a little different from previous years. They usually hold a raffle at GLOGA, but because their raffle license from the state didn’t come in time, they had to switch plans.
“We had to switch to a silent auction, and we were all kind of worried about would people want to bid…it’s college students, how much are they willing to spend?” said Lombardo. “We usually raise around $300; this year we raised around $550…we were very surprised.”
The fundraiser wasn’t the only thing that saw an unexpected, but welcome, boost: the attendance, normally around 100 people, increased to more than 150.
“I think we definitely tried to promote it more…I think the marketing was really good this year,” said Baumann.
Besides GLOGA in the fall, the other large event that Baumann and Lombardo are planning for is their spring gala, which is their initiation night. Throughout the year, though, they said they try to hold some fundraisers and are thinking of making blankets for assisted living homes, and they also have a tree they decorate at the Rotary Lights.
While only students within the public health and community health education major are able to join Eta Sigma Gamma, the co-presidents mentioned something that is open to everyone. Each spring, they take a group of 30-40 students to Madison for an advocacy summit. They spend a day or two at conferences learning about the legislative process, and then go into state legislators’ offices and advocate for a bill.
“Each year is different depending on what is…likely to get attention,” said Lombardo. “It also has to be public health focused…what are we going to do to improve the communities around us.”
If you are interested in becoming an organ donor, here are the links for registering in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Illinois. If you are from a different state, you can register here. You can also give a monetary contribution toward organ and tissue donation efforts here.
“It’s important we’re aware that we as individuals…sign up to be organ and tissue donors so that…our families aren’t worried about making that decision for us,” said Baumann. “It has such a big impact.”
