Schoolwide Blood Drive

HealthPath is a 4 year integrated academic career pathway for high school students interested in a future career in healthcare.  Students in the junior year of HealthPath completely organize and run the two school blood drives that happen during the school year.  The December blood drive is usually a one-day drive, while the May blood drive lasts 2 days.  Students collect food donations, organize and recruit blood donors, manage permission slips for 16-year old students, communicate with students and teachers, and maintain contact with the local blood bank.  The blood drive actually takes place in the HealthPath science classroom, and HealthPath students act as door monitors, hall monitors, comforters, food police, and runners.  The blood drive has been happening for fifteen years and has been student run that entire time, though every year students seem to learn from past experiences, and the coordinators add their own special touches to the drives they are in charge of.  Coordinators are chosen from a pool of HealthPath sophomores who write an essay describing the reasons they feel they are qualified to do this very big job.  Then, in the May blood drive they shadow the Junior coordinators, and basically learn how to do what it takes to put together the blood drive.  Then, when they are Juniors, they are on their own to put on the December drive the following year.