Champions for Hope

Be an organ & tissue donation champion at your hospital and earn CEUs.

Champions for Hope staff posing with certificate
Champions for Hope staff posing with certificate

Free education to improve your patient care and leadership

Champions for Hope is a free webinar series that will equip you to continue improving organ, eye and tissue donation outcomes at your hospital. New cohorts begin each August for:

  • Nurses
  • Patient care technicians
  • Respiratory therapists
  • Case managers
  • Chaplains
  • Social workers
  • Child life specialists

Earn 18 CEUs by attending a 90-minute webinar each month and completing the related quizzes.

Nurses at NDLM

Donation education from the experts

Some topics you will learn about from donation and transplantation experts:

  • Referral for donation, the triggers and timing
  • The pathways to donation after circulatory death and brain death
  • How organ allocation and transplant waitlists work
  • The medical needs for tissue grafts and the tissue donation process
  • Roles in family approach, donor management and recovery
  • Perfusion technologies and ongoing advancements in the fiel
  • Family support before and throughout the donation process
  • The roles of chaplains, coroners and other partners in the process
  • Case studies for discussion
  • Updates and news from Gift of Hope
After completing the program, Champions stay engaged with each other and Gift of Hope for valuable insights, updates and networking.

Get inspired!

Each webinar also features a special guest speaker: a transplant recipient or a donor’s family member who joins the program to talk about their experience.

Promote donation in your hospital

Our 2024-2025 cohort completing the program this summer represented nearly 50 hospitals throughout Illinois and northwest Indiana including:

  • Advocate Christ Medical Center
  • Advocate Condell Medical Center
  • Ascension Alexian Brothers Medical Center
  • Carle Foundation Hospital
  • Endeavor Health Edward Hospital
  • Morris Hospital
  • Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital
  • OSF Saint Francis Medical Center
  • Springfield Memorial Hospital
  • UChicago Medicine
  • AdventHealth Hinsdale

Here’s what graduates have to say:

“I have really enjoyed attending this series. This has increased my understanding of how to assist for better outcomes. I have brought back key points monthly to our ED nursing practice committee.”

“I have learned a lot from [Champions for Hope] and look forward to continuing to collaborate! It really is a huge opportunity for growth as a bedside nurse to participate and share!”

“Although the Champions for Hope Program is one year in length, my role as a donor champion will continue long after the program is over. I now have a network of wonderful people I can contact and communicate with, and I hope to continue growing my knowledge and involvement in organ donation for years to come.”

Enroll today!

Registrations will be accepted through August 12 for the 2025-2026 cohort which begins August 19, 2025. Webinars are held at 8:00 a.m. on the third Tuesday of each month.

Complete this form and our Champions for Hope team will contact you to confirm your registration and enrollment.

Follow and tag us on social media

Use hashtags #SayYestoDonation #GiftofHope

Tag our account @GiftofHope

Link to www.giftofhope.org/join-the-registry

Say yes to saving lives.

One click today can save lives tomorrow.

Join the registry

Gift of Hope Lab at Itasca