HOSA/SciOly Fundraising

By Emma Yu & Mansi Viswanath

Every year, thousands of peopel are diagnosed with life-threatening blood cancers and diseases like leukemia and sickle cell anima, for whom their only hope is a blood stem cell or bone marrow transplant. Shockingly, 70% of patients don't have a matching donor in their family and must rely on the generosity of strangers. It's in this predicament the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP)'s necessity arises. And right here on our campus, the HOSA and Science Olympiad clubs have stepped up to answer the call.

On March 20, our school’s HOSA and Science Olympiad club collaborated to host another successful fundraising event, where students could preregister to be a donor and donate money. Its impact stretches far beyond the campus walls, as every dollar raised for NMDP is directly funneled into three vital areas:

• Covering the lab costs to process swab kits and add diverse, young potential donors to the NMDP Registry

• Pay for the families' transplant journey

• And, arguably most importantly, spread awareness for the entire mission

At our campus, not only did we sell a variety of donuts (from sprinkles to glaze!), but we also hosted a special teacher pieing activity that received a lot of praiase and cheer...except from the teachers being pied of course. Thanks to the contributions of both the students and the teachers, HOSA was able to raise more than $1000 to help support and save thousands of lives -- marking a school record. Of course, we'd love to offer a special thanks and spotlight on all the teachers who volunteered for this event: Mr. Shaw, Dr. Suba, Mr. Hanson, Mr. Powell, Mr. McClure, Mr. Harris, and Ms. Shanley!