Meet Lauren Finkelstein | Founder, SaveOnePerson.org

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lauren Finkelstein and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lauren, what habits do you feel play an important role in your life?
I feel the most important process for getting things done that look impossible is just taking the next step to get that job done. I don’t look all the way up that mountain, I just take a look at the next step and then the next step and then the next step and before I know it, I’m looking down that mountain victoriously. Also I find it quite helpful to make a deadline when I want that project accomplished by or the project can sit on the sidelines indefenitely. So the two most important factors for me to succeed is just to take a look at the next step and having a deadline.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I started SaveOnePerson.org in 2001. What sets us apart others is this non profit is it’s all heart and passion. I am most proud of the lives that were saved and the ripple effects that this work creates in the world. Stuart Zimmer from NYC found a living organ donor when one of our SaveOneAlerts was on 1010 Wins radio in NYC and a stranger from NYC heard the call for help on the radio, responded and stepped in to save Stuart’s life and donated her kidney. Steven had a couple of more kids after his transplant operation. My most favorite success story is when an 11-year-old girl from Israel received her life-saving match from a stranger in England who read the Save OneAlert on line which originated from a radio segment in NYC. I can’t help but think how this young girl gets to live out a full life, get married, have kids when it could have been a much different story for this family. Another favorite story of mine is when Bonnie saw a WPIX 11 news story on TV for a stranger who needed a living organ donor, answered the call and ended up saving 8 lives in a swap program. The challenges I’ve faced along the way is there’s no real funding to speak of, I finance it myself with my limited budget. I envision having SaveOneAlert offices in every media outlet across the globe and there’s only one right now. I’ve also faced the riducule of othersm such as a former boss saying to me “Who will listen to you?”. Nevertheless, I believe in the project and have seen fruits to the labor over the years. G-d and I know it makes a difference and at the end of the day, that’s what is most important. I’ve learned along the way, patience, persistence, keep going, don’t listen to the naysayers and follow your heart and intuition and the rest will fall into place. I want the world to know that publicizing a person’s life saving story to the masses saves lives, and it’s time to start using media in a whole new way on a consistent basis to save lives for those who need it the most. I’m not asking for around the clock coverage, just five minutes of each day to save a life, on every media outlet across the globe.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I moved from the Upper East Side in NYC to Sunny Isles Beach, Florida. If my friend comes to town, there’s really only one place one needs to be and that’s on the beach, looking at the birds flying overhead, the waves crashing on the beach, feeling the slight wind blowing on your face. There’s no rush and if things get really crazy we can put on a Tony Robbins Priming meditation and just be grateful for being where we are right now. In terms of travel I would take my guest for a drive in my new convertible down to Key West with the music blasting and the top down, singing Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I was close to a suicide bomb in Israel that killed 18 people. The event shook me to my core and I felt called to a higher calling, to do something meaningful with my life. I went to my mentor, Rabbi Simon Jacobson and asked him what I should do with my life? The Rabbi’s response was use my worldly skills to make this world a better place. My worldly skills at that time were that of a TV Promotion Producer. I used my promotional skills to create SaveOnePerson.org by publicizing individual’s life saving medical needs on TV, radio, internet, google grant ads, social media and podcasts, Tony Robbins and his crew has also been instrumental to my growth in terms of expanding my reach by unleashing the power within via weekly videos on prevention of disease & reversing disease, writing a book and creating the SaveOnePerson App which matches living organ donors with donees.

Website: www.SaveOnePerson.org

Instagram: SaveOnePerson

Linkedin: Lauren Finkelstein

Twitter: SaveOnePerson

Facebook: Save One Person

Youtube: Save One Person@SavePerson1

Image Credits
Lauren Finkelstein