Jody Dugas admits Green Shirt Day would have been something Noah Dugas would have loved to be a part of.
"Noah loved his tie-dye green and yellow hoodie," recalls Jody, Noah's mom.
"In fact, he is seen in many pictures wearing it. The brighter the better! So, he would love Green Shirt Day."
April 7, will make the third annual Green Shirt Day
It is in honour of Logan Boulet of the Humbolt Broncos and in support of organ donor awareness and registration across Canada.
You see the parallels between Noah Dugas and Logan Boulet, who is the inspiration for Green Shirt Day, are uncanny.
Logan Boulet, was one of the 16 players who passed away in the tragic Humboldt Broncos bus crash on this day back in 2018.
But with Logan's passing, his family from Lethbridge, Alberta donated six of his organs so that six other lives could help live on. The Boulet's did that because Logan told his parents he was registering for organ donation thanks to some inspiration from a former coach.
Noah Dugas, who was a hockey player and shares the same birthday as Logan Boulet, passed away from a stroke in November of 2020. Soon after his passing, Noah's family donated seven of his organs to help seven other lives.
The Dugas family felt compelled to reach out to the Boulet's considering their son's similarities.
"We decided to reach out to the Boulet family to learn more about Green Shirt Day and how best to promote organ and tissue donation here in North Bay," said Jody.
"They have been a great help to us. We were therefore very happy to be able to purchase green shirts (that were given out at the Battalion game) in support of the Canadian Transplant Association and the Logan Boulet Effect."
Dave Dugas, Noah's dad, says it is an important cause to bring awareness since Noah was an organ donor.
"On the worst day of our lives, the best news was given to those waiting for life-saving transplants," said Dave.
"This brings comfort in knowing Noah has made a difference in the lives of 7 individuals and their families.
Dave Dugas says they hope the awareness of organ donation goes well beyond a day like Green Shirt Day.
"NoahStrong is committed to bringing more awareness to organ donation registration as well as initiating conversations with families on the importance of registering to be an organ donor," said David.
"For this we have set up a 7N1D NoahStrong campaign through Beadonor.ca to increase the number of people registered here in North Bay and surrounding area. You can go to NoahStrong.can click on the Be a Donor tab at the top of the page to check your status and register,"
Jody says North Bay is ranked second in the province for organ donation registration so their goal is to bring North Bay to number one.
"We are currently at 84 per cent of our initial goal and are so pleased to see that number increase every day since our awareness event on Sunday at the Battalion game," she said.
