CHS top donor school for Blood Assurance in 2018
Cedartown High School collected 313 units of life-saving blood in 2018, which made it the No. 1 collecting high school in all 5 states of the Blood Assurance coverage area for the second year in a row.
These efforts are headed up by Brigitte Tillery, Cedartown High School’s blood drive coordinator and the Healthcare Science and Technology and Nursing Assistant Instructor at the Polk County College and Career Academy.
Tillery said the success of the school’s drives has everything to do with the students who make the donations.
“Our students are the most fabulous students in Georgia, and they enjoy helping others,” Tillery said. “The blood drive is a big deal to them. They show up and they show out to give.”
Tillery added the Bulldogs who are giving back “like to be winners.”
“They know in their mind that they have won the distinction of being top donors now for several years, and they want to stay on top,” Tillery said.
She also reached her 4 gallon milestone this year as well. Tillery said it was an easy feat to reach after more than two decades in education.
“Every blood drive we have, if I want my students to give then I have to set the example,” she said. “They respond.”
Blood Assurance also said that along with Tillery’s leadership, the success of Cedartown Highorganized blood drives are due to the efforts and assistance of the school’s HOSA students.
They were on hand and helped out at the first Detective Hearne Memorial Drive hosted by the Polk County Police Department in September of this year organized by another longtime giver to Blood Assurance, PCPD Officer Andy Anderson.
“T h i s i s s u c h a n incredible accomplishment for a high school to collect so many units in a single year, and for Cedartown High School to do it back-to-back speaks volumes about the leadership of Tillery, her HOSA students, and the entire Cedartown community,” Mandy Perry, Community Liaison of Blood Assurance, said in a release. “Blood Assurance, as well as the over 900 local lives it helped save, is deeply grateful for the support and partnership of Cedartown High School and its community.”
Cedartown High School hosted 3 blood drives in 2018 to get to their 313 unit milestone.
Tillery said one of the reasons why Cedartown also saw success in giving blood was working with Blood Assurance, who she said helps ensure students that when they make a donation the process will go as smoothly as possible.
“They are great organization to work with,” she said. “Everyone works together make sure giving is so easy, and to make the environment of donating comfortable. Sometimes our students are a little scared their first time giving, so they definitely help with making donating blood as easy as possible.”
Cedartown High School wants to remain at the top of the donating heap, and that means hosting more blood drives in 2019.
They’ll start trying to beat the more than 300 units donated in the weeks to come with another drive scheduled for February. Those interested in participating can mark their calendars for Tuesday, Feb. 5 from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.