GREENVILLE, Ohio – Community Blood Center and Vectren awarded a $1,000 Lead The Way Creative Scholarship to Greenville Senior High School senior Hayley Maher for her “Blood Gives” blood drive recruitment campaign.

Hayley is the class of 2018 valedictorian at Greenville Senior High School and has made five lifetime blood donations. Her “Blood Gives” campaign featured a video and it received the highest score from the Lead The Way judges.

“Giving blood is a celebration of the little things in life that recipients of blood donations are able to experience more of,” she wrote. “Birthdays, family vacations, laughs with friends, anniversaries, and hundreds of other invaluable life experiences.”

She illustrated the “blood gives more life” theme both in a graphic design for a blood drive t-shirt, and in an original video montage of life celebrations. The video also includes facts about blood donations, images from the school blood drive, and multiple interviews with classmates about why they donate.

Hayley plans to study exercise science at the University of Mount Union with the goal of working in sports medicine. She is a member of the Medical Tech Prep program at Greenville High, the student group that sponsors the spring blood drive.

“Hayley is an outstanding student,” said Medical Tech Prep teacher and blood drive coordinator Amanda Koenig. “The blood drives are a good experience. At Med Tech the students are interested in pre-med and health careers and with the blood drive they feel more connected.”

The 2018 Lead The Way winners include: Mikayla Schaffner from Miami East High School; Karson Hudson from Valley View High School; Kacie Tackett from Newton High School; and Kayla Helmick from Cedarville High School.

 

MIAMI COUNTY , Ohio – Community Blood Center and Vectren awarded $1,000 Lead The Way Creative Scholarships to Miami East High School senior Mikayla Schaffner at the May 16 Miami East Senior Awards Night and to Newton High School senior Kacie Tackett at Newton’s May 17 Awards Assembly.

The awards honored Mikayla’s “Giving up isn’t in our Blood” recruitment campaign and Kacie’s “Put up a Fight for the ones that are Fighting” campaign.  It’s the third consecutive year a Lead The Way scholarship has gone to a Miami East senior and the second year in a row to a Newton High senior.

CBC/Vectren Lead The Way applicants are challenged to design a winning marketing campaign for a high school blood drive. They submit a campaign slogan, explain why it would encourage fellow students to donate, and express the campaign theme with innovative and artistic marketing techniques.

Miami East High School Principal Todd Gentis, blood drive coordinator and National Honor Society adviser Cynde Sroufe, and CBC Account Representative Dana Puterbaugh presented Mikayla’s award.

Mikayla emphasized courage and strength in her “Giving up isn’t in our Blood” campaign. Her original artwork featured a blood bag in the shape of a heart filled with words of encouragement.

“Both the individuals who donate and who are in need of blood are brave and bold,” she wrote.  “Not a large number of people like to volunteer to get their blood drawn for donation, and that’s why the people who do are so important.  ‘Giving up isn’t in our blood’ is a slogan that can bring people together to donate and save the lives of individuals who are in need of blood.”

“We had more kids this year participate in the blood drive than any year previous,” said Principal Gentis. “Kudos to Cynde Sroufe and the NHS. We’re blessed with awesome kids here. Mikayla has been an amazing addition to our senior class. She’s a phenomenal artist, no doubt. She has a great future ahead of her.”

Mikayla will attend the Columbus College of Art & Design.

Newton High School Principal Danielle Davis, NHS Adviser and blood drive coordinator Taylor Stevens and CBC’s Dana Puterbaugh presented Kacie’s scholarship.

Kacie was NHS president at Newton High and earned a CBC “Red Cord” for supporting school blood drives.  The t-shirt she designed for her “Put up a Fight for the ones that are Fighting” campaign features a bright red pair of boxing gloves.  Kacie also submitted a special photo with grandmother, who receives dialysis treatments three times a week.  Kacie wore red boxing gloves in the photo and they both wore “Put up a Fight” t-shirts.

“Many people have someone special to them that is fighting,” wrote Kacie, using the examples of cancer patients and accident victims. “Many people could also know someone who has lost their fight. Students usually think there is nothing they can do to help their loved one. However, with this campaign students can feel like they are helping their loved one by something as simple as donating blood.”

“We’re a small school but Newton High produces quality students, just like the big schools,” said Principal Davis. “I’m so proud of our student body. Kacie’s a great student too. We’re giving out a lot of scholarships today. It shows that even small schools like Newton can take advantage of these opportunities.”

Kacie plans to attend Edison State Community College and later Urbana University to study early childhood education and guidance counseling.