With the cost of a transplant often exceeding $500,000, many transplant patients are unable to shoulder the financial burden of such a procedure. The Children's Organ Transplant Association (COTA) is a national charity dedicated to organizing and guiding communities in raising funds for transplant-needy patients. In South Bend, volunteers are raising funds for transplant patients like local boy, Michael Niespodziany.

Born on August 30, 2007, Michael was diagnosed with End Stage Kidney Disease, and doctors at Riley Children's Hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana recommended a life-saving kidney transplant. An estimated $30,000 is being raised by South Bend volunteers.