Laura Ann the Intern: An Introduction

Hi everyone! I’m Laura Ann Sherwood and am the Public Education intern for The Living Legacy Foundation. During my internship, I will be using this blog to reflect on my experiences with LLF and share things I am learning about organ eye, and tissue donation with all of you!

Recently, we gave a presentation at YO! Baltimore alternative school. It was a great experience and I am really glad I had the opportunity to go.

We spoke to four different classes about organ, tissue and eye donation and gave the students an insight to what goes on here at the Living Legacy Foundation as well as with Donate Life Maryland. Discussions grew quickly as the students explained all the different things each one of them had heard about organ donation and expressed his or her concern when choosing to become a designated organ donor.  It was very refreshing to hear what they all had to say. By joining LLF on this event, I learned interesting facts about donation that I have never known. Such as when a person donates his or her lungs, one of the two lungs can go to save one person while the other lung can go and save the life of another person.

A common concern the students at YO! Baltimore shared was that if he or she was an organ donor and something happened to them, doctors would not try as hard to save their lives. This is one of the most common myths people believe about donation. The presentation cleared up this myth, as well as some other concerns they expressed about donation. Hopefully being able to ask questions and having a detailed discussion about donation really gets them thinking about becoming a designated donor!

Another event I got to experience with LLF was the Fells Point Festival on October 2. It was a great day; and the weather was beautiful and we received a lot of support from everyone who attended the event. I really enjoyed staffing this event, it allowed me the opportunity to meet the great volunteers who work with our organization and to hear their personal stories about their connections to donation, which makes what we do here at LLF even more rewarding.

There were so many people coming to our booth at the festival that we almost ran out of giveaways! To really involve the public and to show our appreciation to all organ donors, we gave a way sling bags to everyone who could prove to us that he or she was an organ donor! It was really fantastic to see how many people had the little red heart on their driver’s license! Thank you to everyone who has one!

For me, this was a time to really interact with the public and hear their stories and opinions on organ donation. At one point we had 4 transplant recipients at our table telling us their incredible stories! I even had one guy life up his shirt and show me his scar! It was pretty intense.

Even though I have only been with the LLF for a short time, I am already learning so much and am able to meet a lot of great people! I am really looking forward to my next project, and am very excited to go out on another event!