Creating a Donation-Friendly America

Two New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDLWD) employees review a donor registry brochure and ask questions at an information table event on 12/6/2005.

NJ Sharing Network proudly participates in “Workplace Partnership for Life,” a national initiative developed by the Department of Health and Human Services in 2001 to encourage increased donation rates through workplace education. The initiative welcomes corporations, businesses, and organizations of all sizes to create a nationwide network of employers that offer their personnel access to information and the opportunity to donate life. To date, over 75 companies in New Jersey and over 10,000 across the country have joined the initiative as proud “workplace partners.”

NJ Sharing Network works closely with our workplace partners to implement activities specifically designed to educate employees and promote the importance and benefits of donation and transplantation. Most importantly, employees are given the opportunity to join the New Jersey Organ and Tissue Donor Registry, a centralized, confidential computer database of all registered organ donors in the State.

Regardless a company’s level of involvement, NJ Sharing Network is happy to work with each of our workplace partners to meet the unique characteristics and needs of that organization. Activities include something as simple as a paycheck stuffer to something as involved as a weeklong donation drive including lunch-and-learn presentations and information tables staffed by NJ Sharing Network employees and volunteers. NJ Sharing Network provides all resources for our workplace education efforts including: literature, donor registry brochures, promotional items, and a library of material for companies to incorporate into their employee communications.

NJWPFL Campaign Manager Jessica Melore (R) tells a NJDLWD employee about her experiences as a heart transplant recipient at an on-site information table event on 12/6/2005.

Some examples of additional workplace activities include:

• Send a paper, electronic or voice mail message
  promoting donation from the CEO.

• Distribute donor cards and educational materials to employees.

• Add a Donate Life message to employee pay stubs or include Donate Life paycheck stuffers.

• Display donor cards or donation-related materials in high traffic areas, such as the lobby, cafeteria and break rooms.

• Add a link to www.sharenj.org from your website.

• Include an article about donation in your company newsletter. Feature stories about area recipients or donor families.

• Display educational material on company bulletin boards.

• Identify employees within your organization whose lives have been touched by donation and transplantation and highlight these personal stories in newsletters or email.

• Implement a leave policy for employees who donate an organ.

• Create Donate Life stickers for ID badges and make available for employees who wish to show their support.