Teachers at Our Lady of Mount Carmel are teaching their students about heroes as the father of two donates a kidney to save the life of a local four-year-old boy.
While Joe Marchand goes under the knife on Friday, he'll know the school community of 450 strong is behind him.
Principal Anna Mancini said his wife, Dawn, approached their childrens' teacher two days ago asking if their class could wear green, the official colour of organ donation.
When the teacher approached Mancini, she decided to make it a school-wide activity.
"I walked around the school today, and we have a sea of green out there. It's amazing," she said.
Mancini said teachers are using the opportunity to also talk in class about the impact of local heroes.
"You know, a lot of the fictional ones like Batman and Superwoman, and there's also our local heroes like our healthcare workers and educators," she explained. "But this is a superhero that has gone over and beyond."
It's also a rare opportunity to talk about organ donation.
"I'm sure that many of us in our families or friends know of someone that needs an organ donated," she said. "I do believe may not know about it or may even be fearful of it. So, we just want to ease that fear and educate them."
According to the Ontario government and Trillium Gift of Life Network, 1,386 organs were transplanted in 2019, a 13 per cent increase over the previous year and a provincial record.
In that year, 742 transplants were kidneys, 242 from live donors.
