There are many types of clubs at CHS, of all different genres. Many of them want members to have a good time doing something you love, for example, the Star Wars club. Then some clubs want to inspire you to be active and get outdoors, like the mountain biking club. Lastly there are the clubs who truly want to make a difference in their community, which in our case, is SODA.
SODA stands for Student Organ Donor Advocates, and they do exactly what their name implies: teach other people what it means to be an organ donor. In this article, we will be covering the (short) history of the club, showing how you can participate in SODA activities, and highlighting what their goals are for the bright future of organ donation at CHS.
Last year, in November 2024, the CHS SODA club was started. The initial leaders were faculty, Ms. Wolff-Coussoulos and Ms. Daly, while being organized and led by then junior and now senior Kiley Jones. Then there was a group of 5 other students last year at the start. That’s all it takes to make a difference: 2 teachers and 6 students.
When talking to Ms. Wolff-Coussoulos, I prompted the question of what made them want to start a club that could have this much effect in a community? The answer was simple and sweet, “We had a friend who was close to all of us pass away, and he donated his organs to save others’ lives. The more people who make that generous donation, the more lives are saved.”
Once the SODA club got started, they hit the ground running, hosting 3 events, including a table with information at a basketball game, a cookie decorating day, and a spring egg hunt which included a crossword puzzle and lots of candy. Overall, last year, they got three people to become organ donors at the school, but over the course of the school year, they educated around 300 more students so they could learn about the cause and sign up at home. The members view last year as a success and a great starting point and are incredibly excited to keep the momentum going into this 2025-2026 school year.
Now that you have read, here are some ways to get involved. The best way will be to attend one or more of the events that they will be holding this upcoming year. The club has not officially announced when they will be doing what this year but we do have a teaser from senior Kiley Jones that the popular ”Spring SODA Egg Hunt” will likely be making a return later this school year. One of the best ways to get in contact with the SODA club is to give them ideas or ask questions by  emailing any member through their Charlottesville City Schools email on your chromebook. While SODA is currently not open for new members, they are in conversations about letting in members from the rest of the school in the future.
The SODA club at Charlottesville High School has many goals and aspirations including educating people of all ages, genders, races, and social classes of what it means to be an organ donor and why it is important to our society. They have already been working towards that goal for almost a year now and are excited to keep helping our community for many more generations of CHS students to come.