Mohamed Abdellatif, Klein High School

Matthew Brinkman, Concordia Lutheran High School

Lauren Gray, Atascocita High School

Shelby Jackson, Waltrip High School

Romero Santiago, Klein High School

Stephanie Tollette, Friendswood High School

Lara Van Klompenburg, College Park High School

Sean White, Klein High School


Three students from Klein! (All the essays were reviewed anonymously, in case you were wondering.) Way to go, Bearkats!

And good luck to all our winners!

If you're not a senior yet and want to apply for a Power of Life scholarship in the future, check out the requirements.

Carole Connevey, 18, of Cy-Falls High School

Frank Valle, 16, of C.E. King High School

Ryan Henrichsen, a BHS senior, has some background knowledge of why it's important to Commit for Life. His mom, Gloria, is very committed as the blood drive chairperson for Richmond State School, and Ryan is only the latest in a long line of blood donors from his family.  He published a two-page spread in his school's February newsletter, promoting the Feb. 25 campus blood drive.

Ryan, second from left, donates with friends Zach Watson, Ben Hinds and Eric Thormaehlen.

The newsletter shares tips for donating, such as eating a hearty meal before giving and incorporating iron-rich foods into your diet; age and weight requirements; and instructions for scheduling your donation.

Abundant information is essential for any blood drive to be successful, but especially in the case of high school drives, in which many donors are giving for the first time. Additional keys for success learned from Brazos High School and other Power of Life schools include:

Administrative and faculty support - Top-down support is a must. Brazos' High School Principal Lyle Ebner gives his endorsement of the program in the school newsletter.

Community involvement - Another Power of Life school, Brenham High School, gets local businesses like Wal-Mart, Coca-Cola and Blue Bell Ice Cream to donate prizes and snacks for donors.

What's in it for me? - Even though giving blood is all about saving lives, remember the other benefits of Commit for Life. Brazos High School promotes the Commit for Life store, telling students how to redeem their points for prizes like clothes, electronics and more.

Personalize the experience - Remind the students their donations could benefit someone just like them. At Milby High School recently, students donated for their classmate, Carmen Rios, who was about to undergo surgery.

Peer-to-peer support - No endorsement is as strong as the one that comes from your peers. What are other students saying about giving blood? Share their words of encouragement, just like these Brazos students.

 
"(Donating) makes me feel like a hero!" - Jamie Horelica

"I donate to help save lives." - Dylan Macha

So there's this band called the Jonas Brothers coming to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo next month, and we hear they're kind of popular.

You've heard of them, you say? Well if you're a fan, this next bit of news might interest you. The Blood Center has scored two pairs of tickets to the Sunday, March 8 concert, and we are going to give them away to two lucky donors through our Power of Life high school blood drive program.

Everyone who donates or attempts to donate at a high school blood drive during the month of February will be automatically entered to win! We'll draw two lucky winners at the beginning of March.


photo courtesy of Flickr user ♡ Jonas Brothers ♡.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/knjf

Look for high school blood drives that are open to the public.

Join us in congratulating Emilia Espitia from Alief Taylor High School! Emilia is the proud winner of a pair of Continental Airlines tickets as part of Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center's "Save Lives and See the World" promotion.

At eighteen years old Emilia has been donating for over a year with her National Honor Society to help patients just like her mother, who used several units of blood in 2005. Little did she know that her life-saving donation would also register her for this annual promotion.

So, where will her travels take her? We asked and a very humble Emilia said, "I've traveled to several places, but my parents never really had a honeymoon. I think I'll surprise them and give them the tickets."

If you're a Commit for Life member, there is still time to register to win and help save lives.

Visit www.giveblood.org for more information.

Thanks, everyone, for a great Real World experience last week!

Over the two days we hosted the workshop, more than 250 students from 27 schools joined us in making videos, brainstorming future Power of Life campaign ideas and exploring behind-the-scenes operations at Memorial Hermann Hospital. We had a great time working with all of you and can't wait to see what else you accomplish this school year!

We got some terrific footage from the videos shot during the event, and we are really excited about sharing them. Tasked with making videos to promote blood donation among high school students, our Real World attendees came up with video concepts ranging from funny to serious to seriously dramatic.

Alex, our graphics guru and video editor extraordinaire, is compiling all the footage we shot last week and showing it to others around The Blood Center to get their votes on the best videos. We plan to have the winning videos up by the end of the month, so sit tight. We'll send out a bulletin letting everyone know when they're up.

In the meantime, if you haven't checked out our photo gallery from the two-day Real World event, take a look and tag yourself or your friends!