Jun 26, 2019 Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Blood Services Awards $500 Scholarships to Area High School Students for Promoting Blood Donation

(New Brunswick, NJ)—Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) Blood Services recently awarded $500 scholarships to several local high school students for their commitment to supporting and promoting successful blood drives at their schools.

Dara Mendez Receives awardThis year’s scholarship recipients are:

  • Dara Mendez, John F. Kennedy Memorial High School in Iselin, who will attend Arcadia University.
  • Anna Baitel, Watchung Hills Regional High School in Warren Township, who will attend Gettysburg College.
  • Eva Rose Tell, East Brunswick High School, who will attend the University of Maryland, College Park.
  • Sarah Lilian Cladek, New Brunswick Health Sciences and Technology High School, who will attend the College of New Jersey.

The scholarships were generously funded by The RWJ University Hospital Foundation.

“It is our privilege to honor these deserving students with scholarship awards this year,” said Charles Wilson, Vice President of Operations at RWJUH who oversees Blood Services. “Partnering with our local high schools on this important initiative was an extremely rewarding experience for us and we are proud of the students’ tireless efforts to raise awareness and support blood donation. As a Level I Trauma Center and a major academic medical center that performs thousands of complex surgical procedures each year, we are reminded every day that the need for blood and blood products is constant. We rely heavily on our donors and dedicated individuals like these students to spread the word in the community and encourage others to donate.”

Sarah Cladek Receives Blood Services AwardEva Rose Tell Receives Blood Services AwardTo be eligible for the scholarships students were required to be seniors in good standings at their high schools and directly involved with the promotion, support and successful fulfillment of blood donor drives at their schools.

Under the supervision of a faculty advisor, students worked collaboratively with a representative of the RWJUH Blood Services recruitment team to lead a group of student volunteer recruitment captains who were responsible for recruiting blood donors to their respective blood drives.

Participating students were involved in all aspects of organizing a blood drive, from recruitment to marketing and promotion and presenting to classes and organizations at their schools.

After the drive, each student submitted an essay to his or her faculty advisor focusing on the topic, “What motivated you to be involved in planning your schools blood drive?” The winning essays were submitted to RWJUH Blood Services.

To learn more about donating blood or supporting blood donation in your community, please visit www.rwjuhdonorclub.org.

To learn more about RWJUH, please visit www.rwjbh.org/newbrunswick. For a referral to a physician affiliated with RWJUH, please call 1-888-MD-RWJUH. Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/rwjuh and Facebook at www.facebook.com/RWJUH.