Phoebe Teams with Girl Scouts To Raise Awareness about Organ Donation

Albany, GA | April 9, 2025 – Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia is partnering with Phoebe and Lifelink of Georgia to promote organ donation awareness. “Give Life, Grow Hope” is an educational event that – for the first time in Georgia – will provide girl scouts the opportunity to earn a Donate Life patch for learning about the importance of organ donation.

“Earning badges and patches is a fun way for our scouts to highlight their accomplishments, but the true benefits are represented by the skills, life lessons and values the girls learn by completing the required tasks,” said Sue Else, Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia CEO.

Girl Scouts from throughout the region are invited to participate in “Give Life, Grow Hope” Saturday, April 19 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Girl Scout DreamLab located inside Walmart on Ledo Road. DreamLabs are innovative and flexible spaces where girls of all backgrounds and experiences can have fun with a purpose. The Albany DreamLab is the only one in the country inside a Walmart, and it includes a podcast studio, an area for STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) activities and other resources to encourage interaction, collaboration and learning.

“Our DreamLab is a place for our scouts to have fun while learning valuable lessons and solving community problems. Through ‘Give Life, Grow Hope,’ we hope they’ll come to understand the importance of organ, eye and tissue donation and that, by telling people about donation and encouraging them to register their organ donor decision, they can help save lives,” said Cullena Mays, DreamLab Manager.

Currently, more than 100,000 people in the United States are awaiting organ transplants, including around 3,000 Georgians. April is National Donate Life Month, an observance to raise awareness about organ, eye and tissue donation.

“One organ donor can save up to eight lives, and one tissue donor can benefit up to 75 people. All year, but especially in April, we want to dispel myths about organ donation, explain the critical need for organ donors and encourage people to register their decision to become a donor. We are grateful to the Girl Scouts for joining us in that mission and spreading the word that a decision to be an organ donor can create a ripple effect of kindness and transformation for generations to come,” said Courtney Proctor, LifeLink Foundation Public Affairs Specialist.

LifeLink of Georgia is the federally-mandated organ procurement organization that works with hospitals in Georgia to perform the lifesaving mission of organ donation and transplantation.

“We work closely with LifeLink to identify potential organ donors and to offer whatever counsel and guidance those families may need and request. If we think about organ donation when we’re healthy, talk about our feelings with our loved ones and register our decisions, it can relieve a lot of stress on families when an organ donation opportunity arises,” said Rev. Joey Holland, Phoebe Chaplaincy Manager. “The Girl Scouts are providing a great service by educating themselves early in life and encouraging their families and others in the community to learn the facts about organ donation, as well.”

During “Give Life, Grow Hope,” scouts will have the chance to participate in several activities including creating uplifting cards for patients awaiting transplants, learning about how organs work and what organs can be transplanted, creating keychains with donation awareness messages, and learning truths and dispelling myths about organ donation.

To learn more about organ donation and register as an organ donor, visit www.mystorycontinues.com.