Two Aberdeen High School students will be able to add “American Red Cross Scholarship Recipient” to their transcripts this spring.
The seniors each earned $500 for their efforts to organize, promote and host a Red Cross blood drive on their school campus.
A handful of schools and students in our Northwest Region are currently utilizing the American Red Cross High School Scholarship Program, but none as successfully as Aberdeen High School.
The American Red Cross High School Scholarship Program awards scholarship money to high schools that host and organize at least one Red Cross blood drive each academic year. Amounts awarded depend upon the number of units collected with up to $3,000 in scholarship money made available.
“The scholarship program is about so much more than incentivizing blood drives. We’re educating teens about the reason giving blood is so important – we’re investing in blood donors of the future while thanking them for investing their time, trust (and blood!) with us,” Heath PalenMcbee, Red Cross Donor Recruitment manager
Jonathan Kranich, a teacher at Aberdeen High School, leads a program on campus to positively impact school climate and culture. Part of their mission includes encouraging students to give back in the community. He says hosting a Red Cross blood drive was a “perfect fit” for his students.
Kranich remembers his mom donating blood when he was a kid and he followed in the same spirit while a student at Pacific Lutheran University. That early participation, and the impact it had on his life, sparked the idea of having the students consider hosting a blood drive to help others.
The Aberdeen students held their 3rd blood drive of the year on May 3, 2018.
For more information about the Red Cross Scholarship Program, contact our Pacific Northwest Blood Services Region: 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767).
American Red Cross NW Region 