Memorial Blood Centers Announces High School Award Winners

ST. PAUL, Minn., Aug. 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Memorial Blood Centers today announced the winners of its annual high school awards programs for the 2009-2010 school year, including individual student recipients and the school Partner of the Year.  

Every year, Memorial Blood Centers partners with hundreds of high schools throughout the Twin Cities’ Metro, Greater Minnesota, and northwestern Wisconsin to help students further develop their leadership skills and a life-long commitment to community service through blood donation. $2,000 awards are presented to students who are nominated by school faculty, honoring their outstanding leadership in organizing blood drives at their schools. Recipients of the 2009-2010 Memorial Blood Centers’ High School Awards include:  

• Zachary Brown, Denfeld High School in Duluth, who this fall will attend Modesto Junior College, Modesto, CA
• Coleton Hardenbrook, Two Harbors High School, will study at Duluth’s Lake Superior College
• Roshell Richardson, Grand Rapids High School, will go on to study at Duluth’s Lake Superior College
• Matthew Schiff, Northwestern High School in Maple, WI, will attend Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College in Cloquet

Commenting on the growth in the number of high school blood drives, Joe Zimsen, Memorial Blood Centers’ Assistant Manager of Donor Recruitment, said, “We are very pleased with the success of this program and are especially grateful for the hard work and exemplary leadership displayed by our high school students. All young people who generously donated blood at one of our many high school drives have already saved or sustained lives in our community.”

Memorial Blood Centers also recognized Minneapolis’ Southwest High School as the High School Partner of the Year Award winner for most units donated and the support it provided its student leaders in hosting four drives that collected 389 units of blood. When each donated unit saves up to three lives, Southwest High School students have made a life-saving gift to as many as 1,167 people in need.

Victoria Green, a 2010-2011 Southwest senior and Memorial Blood Centers’ volunteer, accepted the award on behalf of her school. “Hosting blood drives has taught us much more than leadership skills,” said Miss Green, “We learned to be creative as we encouraged our peers to experience for themselves how easy it is to save a life by rolling up their sleeves. Plus, who doesn’t want to get out of class for an hour to do good?”

Memorial Blood Centers acknowledges with gratitude TCF Foundation’s ongoing support of these high school education programs, which include dozens of blood and blood donation-related educational presentations every year. “We are pleased to partner with an organization like Memorial Blood Centers to reach youth in Minnesota and continue building the next generation of blood donors,” said Jim Dowiak, TCF Bank’s Senior Vice President and Memorial Blood Centers’ board member. Memorial Blood Centers celebrates the success of these programs in recognition of the long-term partnership with TCF Foundation.

About Memorial Blood Centers

Memorial Blood Centers has been saving lives in the community for over 60 years as an independent, nonprofit organization supplying life-saving blood and blood components to over 30 hospital partners throughout Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin. Operating 11 donor centers and conducting hundreds of blood drives each month, Memorial Blood Centers also is a national leader in transfusion medicine, providing expert technical services to clients across the U.S. For more information call 888-GIVE-BLD or visit www.MBC.org.

SOURCE Memorial Blood Centers