This St. Patrick’s Day, New Hampshire Job Corps students wore green as they gave red – at the very first Job Corps Blood Drive. Students and staff blew away the donor goal by over 33% – with a waiting list that the Red Cross staff simply couldn’t get to. These results are not just a testament to the generosity of Job Corps student and staff donors, but also speak to the incredible efforts put in by the medical trade student-volunteers.

The Clinical Medical Assistant students first attended a training workshop led by the American Red Cross Donor Recruitment Manager, Kevin Marzoli, and then worked with all three medical trade instructors: Virginia LeRich, Janet Taylor, and Janice Coye to understand the donation process and the registration criteria. These student volunteers proceeded to connect with other students and staff across the entire center to speak to them on donor restrictions, explain the lifesaving statistics of donating blood, and finally, to pre-register donors and hand out appointment cards.

The day of, medical student volunteers worked the registration table, checking donors and answering questions, and manned the canteen, monitoring for signs of dizziness. Clinical Medical Assistant student Chris-Loui Quijano remarked: “Helping with the blood drive has been a really amazing experience. Observing the whole process and just knowing you are helping collect blood so people can live. It’s a great thing.”

As the Blood Drive came to a close, student volunteers Makenzie Bryant, Chris-Loui Quijano and Christopher Roman Serra all noted the long list of donors who were unable to donate due to time limitations – to which the Red Cross Manager replied: “We will have to bring double the staff next time, as long as you all are willing to help out again?”

All three students excitedly agreed that managing the NH Job Corps Blood Drives on a quarterly basis would be a very rewarding experience for them.

Medical Trade Student volunteers: Makenzie Bryant, Kadegia Williams, Valerie Verge, Christopher Quijano Jr. and Christopher Roman Serra, Emily-Anne Bacon, Peligrosa Josiah, Isaiah Pierre, William Winn , Sara McLaughlin, Tehya Charbonneau & Melissa Garabedian

About NH Job Corps:
New Hampshire Job Corps Center is a residential career technical training center provided at no cost to eligible young adults ages 16-24 years old, right here in Manchester, New Hampshire, serving the entire state. NH Job Corps Center is a federally funded program through the department of labor, operated by Adams & Associates. For more information, call NH Job Corps Admissions at 603-621-9555.