Check Your Cholesterol  
Log in to Digital Donor

News and Special Events

Take a look at some of The Blood Center's past special events.

Don't see what you're looking for? E-Mail us and we will help you find it.

 


The Blood Center Awards The Power of Life Scholarships

Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center is pleased to congratulate its 2008 winners of The Power of Life scholarship. Six scholarships were awarded this year to local high school seniors.

The Blood Center selected scholarship recipients based on original essays they submitted with their ideas to encourage their peers to Commit for Life. Applicants for this year’s scholarships attend high schools that have hosted at least two blood drives with Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center this school year. With suggestions ranging from Facebook groups to a birthday blood donation campaign, the students dreamed up innovative ideas to appeal to their age demographic.

The six winners are:

 

"These students in The Power of Life program are the key to maintaining a steady blood supply to serve our community today and in the future," said Brian A. Gannon, president and CEO of Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center. "We are proud to support them as they pursue higher education."

 

Alana Dodson, Klein High School
College plans: Christian Counseling, Baylor University
Why not reach college students where they spend much of their free time? According to Dodson, that place is Facebook. It’s the ideal venue to encourage others to donate blood, she says. Students can invite their friends to join online groups promoting awareness of blood needs, sharing testimonials and listing on-campus blood drive dates.

 

Anna Favrot, Oak Ridge High School
College plans: Industrial and Labor Relations, Cornell University
Favrot offered multiple ways to motivate individuals to Commit for Life. She created a babysitting program for her church’s blood drives, and donation amounts tripled. She cited word of mouth, advertisements and incentives through the Commit for Life store as effective tactics.

 

Mary Hesse, Needville High School
College plans: Biology, Texas A&M University
What if donors could follow their blood and know whose lives they are saving? Hesse suggested a program called "Letters of Life." Donors would receive a letter with information about a life they may have saved. Individuals would get a true sense of their donation’s significance. "As a donor, I would be ecstatic to know my red blood cells saved the live of a 25-year-old female car crash victim or that my platelets were used to treat a 9-year-old leukemia patient," she wrote.

 

Kelsey Champion, Klein Oak High School
College plans: Development and Family Studies, University of North Texas Honors College
Champion dreamed up a "Happy Birthday" campaign for donors. Playing into the festivity and personal touch of birthdays, her plan encourages people to be thankful for another year of living and donate after receiving a card both on their birthday and their "half-birthday" six months later. Champion plans to major in Development and Family Studies at The Honors College at the University of North Texas.

 

Wendy Hua, Klein High School
College plans: Business, Georgetown University
Hua wrote about promoting blood donation to college students. Her ideas included broadcasting blood drive information on college radio stations and during sports games or posting at bulletin boards on Facebook and at popular student hangouts. Hua will enter Georgetown University this fall as a business major.

 

Kelsey Kaye Guthmann, Columbus High School
College plans: Biology/Pre-Medicine, University of Texas
Guthmann learned the true value of blood donations when her friend Megan required 21 units of blood in one day to stay alive after a car accident. When her town held a blood drive for Megan, Guthmann saw that motivating donors was easy when they realized the need. "Educating the public is key," she wrote. She proposed that the public could be informed about blood needs and the safe collection process through channels such as e-mails, Web sites, Facebook and MySpace.