Get databased
Tue Oct 20, 2009 16:12 (UTC -5)As you may know, I volunteer for Get Carded, a student group that raises awareness about organ donation on Florida college campuses. It’s my third year with them, and this time, some things are different. One of the two co-directors of the group has graduated, and his would-be replacement is no longer around due to some drama that apparently occurred over the summer. It’s unfortunate because we’d all been a friendly bunch for as long as I’d been a member.
But that wasn’t the only big change to happen the summer. Get Carded’s parent organization has been put in charge of Florida’s organ donor database, and it’s now taking registrations online. In the past, we distributed organ donor cards, but now we just tell people to go to the web site (or to mail in a form). Our first tabling event was last week, and I had to update my spiel.
The tabling was part of a week-long PR blitz for homecoming week. It started on Monday night when we painted the 34th Street Wall, the only place in town where graffiti is tolerated. Our tabling was Wednesday, and the group also made itself present at the homecoming parade on Friday, although I pulled out of my commitment to that one due to unforeseen circumstances. (I’d been at probably every event for the past two years, so I felt I had the privilege. Also, the co-directors didn’t care.)
Incidentally, the new database makes the name “Get Carded” go from confusing to completely inaccurate. We were told that there was a strong push to change the name, but one of the better-established chapters wouldn’t have it. Branding, y’know.
Are you a Florida resident? Are you an organ donor? (Check your driver’s license if you’re not sure; it would say “Organ Donor” under your signature.) If you’re not, go to donatelifeflorida.org to sign up right now. It just takes a minute, and you’ll be able to edit your personal details whenever they change. (For the question “How did you learn about Florida’s donor registry?” we ask people to select “College campaign” and then specify “UF.” It make it sounds like a cheesy competition, but that’s really how the state organization judges our success.)
And if you have any questions about becoming an organ donor, just ask me.
Remember when people used more than one search engine? A lot of those old ones are still around. See Popular Search Engines in the ’90s: Then and Now. (Via The Presurfer)
For the people who are older than I am: Old Operating Systems Don’t Die.
2 comments
#1 by Fan: Mon Oct 26, 2009 14:04 (UTC -5)
Oh man. I remember in middle school when they used to give us big sheets of search engines we could use to do online research for ‘papers’ (…if a page constitutes as a ‘paper’. I guess it did then, haha).
#2 by Jordon Kalilich: Mon Oct 26, 2009 19:06 (UTC -5)
Yeah, those were the days. I vaguely remember having to type “-XXX” and the like when using a search engine, so easily were they gamed.