Superintendent Jeffrey J. Marsden and Principal Nat Vaughn were pleased to announce that Blake Middle School (BMS) held its 10th annual blood drive in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day earlier this month.
Blake Middle School had organized its annual blood drive on MLK Day each year for the past 10 years in conjunction with the school's "Day of Service" events.
The blood drive took place on Monday, January 15, from 8am to 2pm in the Blake Middle School gymnasium.
The Blake Middle School blood drive was coordinated by a blood drive committee comprised of Blake students and high school alumni and overseen by social studies teacher Cynthia McClelland. This year, the committee included 20 middle school students and eight high school students who had been meeting weekly since October to plan for the event.
The committee had worked in the months before the blood drive to recruit donors by making signs, posters, and presentations that encouraged fellow eligible students to sign up, as well as talk to their family members about donating. Committee members also followed up on all appointments that were made to ensure donors knew they had a spot in the day’s donation schedule.
The student committee then helped with the day-of organization through tasks such as setting up a childcare center, bringing in baked goods for the refreshment and recovery area, and making thank-you cards for donors. Student volunteers were also trained on how to sign in and keep track of incoming donors.
"We are proud to have a high first-time donor rate and it is our hope that we are fostering a pride in donating within our students so that we can create a pool of people who donate blood often," McClelland said. "Our student volunteers do an amazing job each year finding donors and running the event, and this event would not be successful without their hard work, commitment and passion for helping others."
"We are proud to be on our 10th year of hosting this blood drive as part of our Day of Service events and are so appreciative of the Medfield community and their willingness to donate each year,” added Principal Vaughn.
