Organization discusses transplants

Three years ago, senior Rachel Karess lost her best friend, a man with whom she'd shared a backyard since childhood.\nDeath didn't arrive swiftly for Brett Weinstein, Karess's "first friend." Nor did it come unannounced. Instead, it wavered constantly on the horizon, posing a relentless threat for the cystic fibrosis victim.\nThat threat intensified when Weinstein discovered he needed a lung transplant. Unable to find a suitable donor, Weinstein died, having never completed college.\nShaken by the experience, Karess, a political science major, threw herself into researching organ transplants. The native of Allentown, Pa., spent countless hours studying the availability of organs in the United States, seeking an answer to her friend's seemingly unjustifiable death. \nWeinstein found she was not alone. More than 71,000 individuals are awaiting organ donations, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing. Fewer than half of those patients will find an appropriate match. The answer, Karess said, lies in sheer ignorance, and thus a mission surfaced -- to increase education and awareness about organ and tissue donation.\nKaress formed "Life Goes On," a student organization whose members speak at classes, greek houses, residence halls and community events. The group promotes fund-raising activities throughout Bloomington. Since its inception in August 1998, the group has ballooned from six members to a network of 15 collegiate chapters across the country.\n"I felt, firsthand, the pain of losing someone who, ultimately, died senselessly," Karess said. "If there had been an organ donor, Brett would have lived." \nThat's why, she said, she formed Life Goes On. \n"So often, people say they'd like to be donors," she said. "However, the next step is actually confronting the issue and addressing it to friends and family. Most people don't do that. Our goal is to help those people make educated decisions based on facts -- not myths."\nKaress's zeal for her cause soon caught the eye of the Children's Organ Transplant Association. Inspired by Karess's efforts on the Bloomington campus, the association asked her to help implement programs similar to Life Goes On at other college campuses. In May 1999, she joined the association's staff, designing promotional materials and delivering educational presentations. She also assisted in fund-raising efforts.\nKaress's involvement with her organization led her to pursue a certificate in nonprofit management through the American Humanics program in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs. The program, which requires 180 "contact" hours working with a nonprofit organization, also includes membership in the American Humanics Student Association, of which Karess is president. \nJunior Erika Eck, vice president of Life Goes On, cited Karess as a driving force behind the organization's continuing success nationwide. \n"Rachel is a dedicated woman who has made it her personal mission to spread awareness about the crucial need for organ donors," Eck said. "Her personal loss has driven her to make a difference in the lives of others, and her friendship and leadership have helped to shape me into the person I am today, he said." \nKaress, who will graduate this spring with a certificate in nonprofit management and minors in psychology and sociology of business, said she has high hopes for the future of her organization. She has named senior Kat Kirkwood as her successor as president, a choice she said will fill her void "perfectly."\nKirkwood, whose father received a kidney transplant when she was in sixth grade, said her chief concern is consistent with that of her predecessor -- to educate. \n"I just want to continue what Rachel started -- to keep speaking to people and raising money for those who need it," Kirkwood said. "She's the leader I want to be."\nCindy Bowers, director of the American Humanics program, said she agreed with Kirkwood's assessment. \n"Rachel sets the standard and raises others to that bar," she said. "She chose to make a difference, and that gives me great hope for the future of nonprofit organizations"