Giannoulias Honors Student Organ Donors on ‘Sweetness Day’

Giannoulias Honors Student Organ Donors on ‘Sweetness Day’

Walter Payton Prep Sophomores Register Fellow CPS Teens as Organ Donors Under Secretary of State’s LEAD Program

Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias celebrated the sophomore class of Walter Payton College Preparatory High School today after their day of service in honor of Walter “Sweetness” Payton, the school’s namesake.

Occurring every year on March 4th (3/4), Sweetness Day is a day of community service at Walter Payton College Prep. This year, the sophomore class participated in the Secretary of State’s Lifesaving Education and Awareness on Donation (LEAD) program, a community service program designed for high school students to promote organ and tissue donation among their peers.

“While we’re proud that Illinois has one of the largest organ and tissue donation registries in the country, there has been a gradual decline in younger people becoming donors nationwide,” said Giannoulias. By presenting the facts and dispelling the myths about organ and tissue donation, these students are bucking that trend and signing up their peers to give the gift of life. I could not be more proud of them.”

“Walter Payton was an incredibly philanthropic person whose heart was as big as his legacy on the football field,” said Brandon Parker III, Director of Culture and Climate at Walter Payton College Prep. “It is an honor for our students to follow in his footsteps and advocate for a cause so dear to Mr. Payton and his family.”

As part of the service day, 325 students from the high school visited 12 different Chicago public high schools to register fellow students for the LEAD program and the organ and tissue registry. Since the program launched in September of 2024, almost 20,000 16 and 17-year-olds have registered to become organ and tissue donors.

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