Paul Cuffee Upper School was recognized at the Rhode Island Blood Center’s High School Heroes awards for having the top blood drive in the state! Based on a percentage calculated with the number of donations and the size of the graduating class, PCUS earned the top spot, beating out sixty other high schools of all types and sizes across the state.
Twenty percent of all blood donated in the state of Rhode Island comes from blood drives held at high schools and colleges. Every donation helps three people, so Cuffee’s 99 donations during the 2018-2019 school year helped almost 300 people. In addition to their three blood drives, they held a spring “Be the Match” drive where they registered over 35 people for the bone marrow registry.
The school held its first blood drive of the new school year in September. Senior Janaisia Gomes shared, “It was my first time donating. I was so scared, but I wanted to do something nice. I mean, more than nice. I helped save someone’s life. I’m a superhero.”
The blood drives are run by student volunteers, with support from nurse Claudia Arroyave and teacher Megan Thoma.