Junior IB Diploma Program candidates have begun looking at what they want for their CAS (creativity, activity, and service) Project, including Katie Analovitch, who is working with the Red Cross to create a school-wide blood drive. Her goal is to have at least 20 participants and, after only a week of promoting her project, has had over 40 people fill out her interest form. Still, lots of people are turned away by the Red Cross due to low blood sugar and other health issues.
Analovitch hopes to host the blood drive during the second week of April, likely during/after a Friday school day. The blood drive would take place in the Forum, with the assistance of the Red Cross and LHS volunteers. There is also the possibility of winning prizes based on participation in a raffle associated with the blood drive.
The idea for this CAS project comes from Analovitch’s career goal of becoming a doctor. After a childhood of playing sports, and being injured from playing sports, Analovitch has always had an affinity for healthcare in general.
“I’ve played a lot of injury prone sports and I’ve been injured a lot. That has given me exposure to physical therapy, surgery, and just all aspects of healthcare. As I’ve been doing research, I just get more and more interested,” said Analovitch.
Due to the current lack of necessary blood, Analovitch decided to reach out to the Red Cross to see if LHS would be able to host a blood drive. Since one out of six people who donate blood is a current high school student, the CAS project is well placed. Analovitch hopes this event will create a tradition at LHS that will continue for years to come.
“It’s super important and vital that high school students have the chance to donate blood, so I was hoping to give a lot of people that opportunity,” said Analovitch.
As the semester progresses, more information will be easily accessible on how to help the blood drive or give blood, so stay tuned!
