Seniors feel the Logan Boulet Effect

By Lethbridge Herald on April 8, 2025.

Logan Boulet's grandparents Liz and Doug Higo, alongside program coordinator Ashley Kern, encourage those in attendance to become organ and tissue donors, during a Green Shirt Day event Monday at Nord-Bridge Seniors Centre. Herald photo by Alejandra Pulido-Guzman

Green Shirt Day lets older people know they can still make valuable contribution as donors

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

Nord-Bridge Senior Centre recognized Green Shirt Day and the Logan Boulet effect on Monday, by bringing members together to hear about organ donation, have some refreshments and spark conversations. 

Ashley Kern, program co-ordinator, says Nord-Bridge continues to bring organ donor awareness to seniors in the community as many do not realize they can still make a difference. 

“We started honouring the Logan Boulet effect here at Nord-Bridge in 2019, to remind everyone how important it is to become an organ and tissue donor, to register and sign their card,” says Kern. 

She adds that seniors are capable of becoming donors, and that is why they hold the event for seniors at the centre every year. 

Kern spoke about what Green Shirt Day is, about organ donation itself, and the Logan Boulet Effect that led to thousands of Canadians signing up to be donors. She also provided some background on the events that took place on April 6, 2018, when the Humboldt Broncos bus crashed. 

Logan Boulet’s maternal grandparents were in attendance for the first time, and they shared memories of that tragic day while encouraging those in the room to become donors. 

Liz Higo, Logan’s grandmother, says she and her husband Doug wanted to represent the Boulet family as their daughter Bernie and their son-in-law Toby were taking part on other events taking place across the city. 

“I spoke about signing your donor card, and how we were in Saskatoon after the crash, and we were able to see Logan before he passed away. He was our special grandson,” says Higo. 

When talking about the importance of keeping her grandson’s memory alive, Higo says they attend as many events as they can, they talk about Logan all the time and part of it is by having conversations about organ and tissue donation with others. 

“I know a lot of people say, ‘we’re too old, we can’t donate anything,’ but Bernie always tells me ‘Mom, they can use your tissues,’ so I tell people that even if their organs are not the best, they might be better than the ones from people needed them,” says Higo. 

That sentiment is shared by registered organ donor, Zoia Schacher who has been registered for many years and believes it is important to have conversations about it because it can lead to saving people’s lives. 

“I’ve always thought organ donation and tissue donation is really important and something I wanted to do. I’ve had it on my licence for many years, even prior to the Logan Boulet Effect, but I feel like everyone should be able to help each other,” says Schacher. 

She adds that she hopes one day she can help someone else have a better quality of life by donating her organs and tissues. 

“I’ve talked about with both my children and my husband. They all know that this is very important for me, and we are all registered donors,” says Schacher. 

Schacher says even her grandchildren are aware of the importance of organ donation and she likes the idea of schools sharing the information with children of all ages. 

Richard Tamkin, who is also a registered organ donor, says when he has conversations with others about it, he basically has one thing to say: donate.

“I simply don’t understand why people don’t do it,” he says. “They won’t need their organs when they die, so why not donate them?”