The Contigo Foundation has pledged $450,000 to support student-driven organ, eye, and tissue donation advocacy, reinforcing its longstanding commitment to saving lives through education and donor registration. This pledge, which provides $150,000 annually for the next three years, will directly support SODA: Student Organ Donation Advocates, a nonprofit that empowers students to lead organ, eye, and tissue donation awareness efforts on high school, college, and graduate school campuses nationwide.
Since first supporting SODA in 2020, the Contigo Foundation has helped fuel the organization’s extraordinary growth—from just 20 chapters in 2020 to more than 100 in 2024. These student-led chapters have educated over 200,000 people about organ, eye, and tissue donation and registered more than 11,500 individuals as organ donors. From 2022-2023 to 2023-2024 alone, SODA increased donor registrations by 18.5% and educational reach by 97%, directly contributing to reducing the organ shortage for the 103,000 patients currently waiting for a transplant.

The Contigo Foundation’s commitment to organ donation is deeply personal. Leslie Bacardi, who leads the foundation, witnessed the transformative impact of transplantation when her late husband, Jorge Bacardi, received a double lung transplant after living with primary ciliary dyskinesia, a rare genetic disease. The transplant allowed Jorge to take his first full breath of air at age 64 and granted him 12 more years of life before his passing in 2020. His gift of life came from Christopher Mark Gregory, a 19-year-old student who became an organ donor after suffering a fatal brain aneurysm—a powerful story depicted in the film 2 Hearts.

“Congratulations on all that you have been able to accomplish for the world of organ donation,” Leslie shared in a message to SODA Founder Sara Royf and Program Director Nicole Nidea. “We feel confident that you will continue to grow and bring organ donation to the forefront. I am sure that my husband Jorge would be thoroughly pleased with all that SODA has done to educate and sign up organ donors. We hope that with this gift, you will be able to surpass your goal and look forward to the next 100 chapters.”

Prior to this pledge, the Contigo Foundation had contributed between $50,000 and $100,000 annually to SODA since 2020. With this increased investment, SODA has expanded its staff to two full-time and four part-time employees and has exceeded its 100-chapter milestone a year ahead of schedule. Now, with the Contigo Foundation’s continued support, SODA is positioned to build on this momentum—equipping more students to champion organ, eye, and tissue donation and save lives.
Join the Contigo Foundation in supporting student-led donation and registration efforts by making a financial donation to SODA at sodanational.org/donate.