History of COTA Saturday

A Message from the
COTA Saturday National Chair

I am a Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA) volunteer from New York, and I am proof that one person truly can make a difference.

Several years ago my niece, Samantha Conlan, needed a liver transplant. I decided to get involved ... to try to make a difference in the life of this child. Today, six-year-old Samantha is beautiful and full of smiles following her transplant. I am full of hope every time I see her dancing, giggling and giving great big hugs.

In my role as the Campaign Coordinator for the COTA for Samantha campaign, I experienced first hand COTA’s life-saving mission. However, it became very clear to me that there is more work to be done – and not just in my hometown.

I decided that COTA needed a day … a day when all communities could come together and collectively do something to help children like Samantha. And so the idea of COTA Saturday was born.

This year’s COTA Saturday is the start of a two-year program we are calling the One Million Miracles campaign, and I predict that it will catch fire throughout communities nationwide.

Kicking off in September 2007, COTA Saturday’s One Million Miracles will be a way everyone can get involved and make a difference for children who need, and deserve, a second chance at life.

The effort in your community may be as simple as having a bake sale to raise funds for a child needing a life-saving transplant or may be a bone marrow drive that you plan in partnership with your local blood bank. Or perhaps, you will simply commit to collecting pennies to help us reach our ultimate goal – one million miracles. Whatever your community’s effort, big or small, I know it will make a difference.

I have always wondered what God had in store for me in this lifetime. My work on behalf of my niece’s COTA campaign, and now my work with the nationwide COTA Saturday initiative, is truly my special purpose. Never in a million years did I think one person could help launch a program that will help so many.

Do something to save a child’s life, Register an Event for COTA Saturday. You will never regret the effort.

Sincerely,

Barbara Petula
COTA Saturday National Chair