‘Orgamites’ program helps kids learn about organ donations

By Lethbridge Herald on April 5, 2023.

Grade 2 students talk about organ donation and what it means to be a real-life superhero to their fellow students, during the third annual Green Shirt Day assembly Tuesday at Dr. Gerald Probe Elementary School. Herald photo by Alejandra Pulido-Guzman

Alejandra Pulido-Guzman – LETHBRIDGE HERALD – apulido@lethbridgeherald.com

Students, staff and guests at Dr. Gerald Probe Elementary School had the opportunity to learn about organ donation and the importance of becoming a donor during their third Green Shirt Day assembly Tuesday morning. 

During the assembly, Grade 2 students with the guidance of their teacher Bernadine Boulet, mother of Logan Boulet, talked about the function of certain organs, what organ donation is, which organs can be donated, how to become real-life superheroes and the Logan Boulet Effect. 

They also showcased an explanation about organs and organ donation from The Orgamites, a presentation that puts the subject in terms that easy to understand for elementary school aged children. 

While speaking to reporters after the assembly, Bernadine Boulet said she found the resource a few years back while looking for content to share with her students that was expressed at their level. 

“When we had our very first Green Shirt Day assembly in 2019, another teacher and I scoured the internet because that’s where everybody goes to find information to find information for kids in elementary schools that could bring the subject of organ donation to their level, and we were floored to find there was almost nothing that’s aimed at primary school children,” said Boulet. 

She said they kept searching for literature or videos until they stumbled across The Orgamites, which were created in the United Kingdom. 

“The creator of it thought that kids needed some kind of a resource to bring the subject of organ donation to their level and he created The Orgamites, which are actually kind of a cute little way for kids to be able to understand a little bit about organs, to know what their function is, what things that they do and how we can replace those organs with healthy organs if yours are diseased or are not working properly,” said Boulet. 

 Boulet said that after finding the resource, she contacted Canadian Blood Services to let them know about it in hopes they would bring it to Canada. 

“I had stepped in to say ‘hey you gotta check this out’ and they really took that and they ran with it, and now we have orgamites.ca and they have bought the rights for Orgamites to be in Canada,” said Boulet. 

She said once Canadian Blood Services bought the rights, they made it more Canadian and worked on The Orgamites accents to make them more Canadian instead of British, and also had The Orgamites speak French, as well. 

Boulet said she was excited to see parents taking the time to attend the assembly. 

“That tells us that parents support us and support the conversation of organ donation, and that’s really important because that’s what we want to happen. This is for kids to go home and talk to their parents and just have a conversation, not necessarily making that decision to be a donor, but just a conversation so that’s what the whole purpose of our assembly is,” said Boulet.

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