By Katie Schleiss
The Moreau Center for Service and Leadership is currently accepting donations in the honor of recently deceased alumna Lauren Johnson, who died of carbon monoxide poisoning from a faulty furnace in her apartment building on Jan. 5.
Ms. Johnson graduated from the University of Portland in 2008 as a political science and French double major and had been pursuing a graduate degree in Human Rights from the School of International Relations at the University of Denver. A memorial service was held for Ms. Johnson at the Chapel of Christ the Teacher on Friday.
The Johnson family has asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be sent to the Moreau Center or the Raphael House of Portland. The Raphael House is a battered women's shelter that offers shelter to women and children fleeing domestic violence. Ms. Johnson helped children at the shelter with art projects. She also encouraged others to volunteer at the Raphael House and was the unofficial connection between the University of Portland and the Raphael House. Ms. Johnson also worked on campus at the Moreau Center for her four years at the University of Portland.
"Lauren will be remembered for her passion, in mercy, in mischief, and in mission," Laura Goble, Moreau Center Director, said. "For her, conflict was not a problem. It too was a passion, both making and mending it. She wasn't afraid to ask hard questions or challenge assumptions. She also was not afraid to call people she disagreed with friends."
Ms. Johnson was also active in campus activities, including the Service Plunge.
"Lauren would always jump right in and volunteer whenever we needed help," Goble said.
According to Kacy Keippela, student employment coordinator in the Office of Financial Aid, Ms. Johnson was supposed to leave last week for a 10-week internship in Israel with 15 other students from the University of Denver for her master's program in Human Rights from the School of International Relations.
"Lauren volunteered practically all of her spare time at the Moreau Center and for other service projects," Keippela said. "She did a lot of work and even stepped in to help organize the Service Plunge for incoming freshmen for no pay. Anytime anyone needed anything done in the Moreau Center, she volunteered to do it."
In addition to volunteering through the Moreau Center, Keippela said that Ms. Johnson also coordinated food and clothing drives in December and April and distributed the donated items to local charities. She completed numerous service projects and even went to Nicaragua for an immersion trip to study fair trade and human rights.
"There were hundreds of faculty and students at the Denver University memorial, a school she had attended for less than a year," Goble said. "Multiply those same hundreds by the four years she was at the University of Portland and studying abroad. Lauren's legacy of peace and passion is carried in the hearts of thousands all over the world."
The Johnson family asked that people purchase carbon monoxide detectors for their homes as a testament to Lauren's life. Carbon monoxide is odorless, colorless and tasteless and there have been five highly publicized deaths from carbon monoxide in Colorado since Thanksgiving. This has motivated a push by legislators to require the installation of carbon monoxide detectors in homes and apartment buildings.
Donations will be accepted in check form addressed to the Moreau Center. To make donations to the Raphael House, visit http://www.raphaelhouse.com.
