The NJ Sharing Network Foundation has awarded a scholarship to Ms. Ashley Jiggetts of Newarkfor her passion and dedication to raising awareness of organ and tissue donation.
Sharing Network officials said Jiggetts was presented with her scholarship award at the NJ Sharing Network’s headquarters in New Providence during a private ceremony with her family members in the Landscape of Life Meditation Garden.
Jiggetts, a 2021 graduate of Newark Collegiate Academy, was first inspired to help spread NJ Sharing Network’s life-saving mission when her grandmother, Rev. Dr. Valerie Griffin, was put on the waiting list for a kidney transplant.
Fortunately, Rev. Griffin received her kidney transplant after a few years on the list and she is now feeling healthier and stronger each day.
Officials said Ashley credits her grandmother’s transplant journey for changing the lives of her entire family. Ashley plans to attend Fairleigh Dickinson University in the Fall.
The NJ Sharing Network Foundation’s scholarship program provides an opportunity to recognize and award graduating high school senior advocates whose lives have been touched by organ and tissue donation and transplantation.
The scholarship award earned by Jiggetts focused on recognizing a Newark student to help raise awareness as there are currently 162 Newark residents waiting for a life-saving organ transplant - the highest in the state.
Applicants were measured on academic achievement, community and volunteer efforts, extracurricular activities and advocacy for organ and tissue donation.
The application process included a thorough review by a committee of NJ Sharing Network Foundation Board members and volunteers.
“We are delighted to provide scholarship support to amazing students, like Ashley, who have powerful connections to organ and tissue donation and transplantation,” said Elisse E. Glennon, Executive Director, NJ Sharing Network Foundation.
“We know Ashley and all of our scholarship recipients will continue to be strong leaders in educating others about donation and transplantation as they begin college in the Fall.”
The scholarship award was presented as NJ Sharing Network prepares to kick off its 2021 #DonationNeedsDiversity initiative to empower multicultural communities to become more involved in saving and healing lives through organ and tissue donation.
Celebrated in August, National Minority Donor Awareness Month honors the generosity of multicultural donors and their families, while also underscoring the critical need for people from diverse communities to register as organ and tissue donors.
The national initiative features an entire month of local, regional and national in-person events and activities.
NJ Sharing Network stresses the importance of National Minority Donor Awareness Month and the #DonationNeedsDiversity campaign. Some staggering statistics include:
· 66% of those currently waiting for a life-saving transplant in New Jersey are people of color.
· Almost 35% of the nearly 115,000 people on the national waiting list for a kidney transplant are African-American.
· African-Americans, Asians and Pacific Islanders, and Hispanics/Latinos are three times more likely than Caucasians to suffer from end-stage renal (kidney) disease.
“Each year in New Jersey, thousands of lives are saved and enhanced through organ and tissue donation and transplantation. Clearly, this is something to celebrate.
However, there is an urgent need to raise awareness of organ and tissue donation to help save more lives in our diverse communities of New Jersey,” said Joseph S. Roth, President and CEO of NJ Sharing Network.
“Although organs are not matched according to race and ethnicity, and people of different races frequently match one another, all individuals waiting for an organ transplant will have a better chance of receiving one if there are large numbers of donors from multicultural communities.”
E. Denise Peoples, Hospital and Community Services Coordinator, NJ Sharing Network, is a double-lung transplant recipient and a Newark resident who works throughout the year to promote NJ Sharing Network’s life-saving mission in local schools, faith-based organizations and community associations.
“We have all experienced how health issues such as hypertension, diabetes and kidney failure have impacted those around us – our mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, friends and neighbors.
That’s why there is a greater need than ever for transplants among our racial and ethnic minorities. We need the active support of our community members to help educate others and dispel any myths and misinformation about organ and tissue donation,” said Peoples.