From 100 Chapters to What’s Next: Sustaining SODA’s Impact

By Nicole Nidea, Executive Director

As a new school year begins, thousands of student leaders across the country are stepping up to educate their peers about organ, eye, and tissue donation. Some join SODA with deeply personal stories. Others are motivated by our life-saving, life-healing mission. All of them are capable of creating lasting change, and they remind us that advocacy is most powerful when it’s student-led.

This is our vision for the 2025-2026 school year. Read our vision for last school year.

Julia, a student at the University of Colorado Boulder and a two-time heart transplant recipient, wasn’t sure at first whether she was ready to share her story. But when she joined her school’s SODA chapter and did, everything changed. Her vulnerability became connection. Her story became action. Her leadership helped educate hundreds of students and register dozens of donors on her campus.

Julia, me, Dinger from the Colorado Rockies, and Sophia at the AOPO 2025 Annual Meeting in Denver

Stories like Julia’s are powerful, and they are a part of a much bigger picture. SODA now supports a growing nationwide network of passionate student leaders who are shaping the future of donation. Since 2014, SODA students have educated 258,343 people and helped register 14,218 new organ, eye, and tissue donors. Every one of those numbers represents a conversation, a commitment, and a potential life saved and healed.

Julia shared her story at the 2025 AOPO Annual Meeting. Watch her Connect to Purpose session on YouTube.

Last school year, that collective power helped us reach a major milestone: 100 active chapters, a goal we met one full year ahead of schedule. That moment was personal for me. I joined SODA’s very first chapter exactly ten years ago. Back then, we were a handful of students with a shared vision. Today, we are a movement, and it’s because of people like you who believe in the power of student advocacy.

Now, we’re entering a new era focused on sustainability.

This year, our goal is to ensure that every chapter—whether brand new or well-established—has the tools, training, and support they need to thrive long-term. That means strengthening registration efforts, improving retention, and helping students build systems that last beyond their time on campus. Our focus isn’t just on growing in numbers but on deepening our impact for years to come.

Our 115+ outstanding chapters!

See if there's an active chapter near you on our chapter map.

Thank you for being part of this community. Your support helps build a future where organ, eye, and tissue donation advocacy is not just possible, but sustainable and life-saving.