Syracuse alumna, Lillian Baharestani, coordinated the first Gift of Life donor recruitment drive in 2004.  As an active member of the registry, she has since been called to donate and continues to volunteer as a Gift of Life Ambassador.  In 2007, Syracuse Hillel and Gift of Life teamed up once again, running the “You Got Swabbed” campaign, which brought an incredible 1,110 new donors into the registry.  Not only was that the drive that still holds the record as the largest recruitment drive on a college campus, but coincidentally, it was held on the same day that Lillian was going through donation of her cells which saved the life of a little girl.

 

Looking back on the success of the donor recruitment drives of the past, this year’s drives were set up at a series of locations on three different days in order to attempt to maximize the number of new donors recruited to join the registry.  Over 600 new potential donors were entered into the registry as a direct result of their efforts.

 

Lizzie and Helene couldn’t be happier with the reactions they received on campus.  Lizzie said, “People really find these drives meaningful and memorable.  A number of students came up to our tables during our drive this year and told us that they still have their donor cards in their wallets from our drive in 2007, hoping that one day they'll receive a call.”