LILESVILLE — An Anson High School student recently won a $1,000 scholarship after holding a blood drive in Wadesboro this summer.
Janay Lindsey, a senior, was one of seven students in the Charlotte area to receive a scholarship through the Community Blood Center of the Carolinas’ sixth annual Students Saving Summer program, according to a Monday release from the blood center.
High school and college students hosted blood drives over the summer with the blood center to benefit local patients. Each of the seven awarded a scholarship had the most successful blood drives, according to the Community Blood Center.
Lindsey hosts two or three blood drives each year, and has held a total of eight to 10, she said. Until this summer, all of her blood drives had been hosted at her school and were mostly attended by students.
The teenager has a personal motivation for hosting the blood drives.
“I have sickle cell disease and I get blood transfusions every four weeks,” Lindsey said. “That makes me want to give back.”
The blood drive she hosted this summer was her largest one yet. She had 75 participants, with a total of 50 units of blood donated.
Lindsey heard about the scholarship and blood drive opportunity from Meredith Mauldin, a representative with the Community Blood Center of the Carolinas who organizes blood drives. Mauldin and Lindsey connected through one of Lindsey’s ninth-grade teachers.
When she organized the blood drive, Lindsey got Walmart in Wadesboro on board and hosted the event there. The Zeta Phi Beta sorority was a co-sponsor. She thanked the sorority and the entire community for its participation.
“I think that the community showing up was an amazing part of it,” Lindsey said. “The fact that the community came out and supported me so much.”
Lindsey will use the scholarship money to help pay for her tuition when she goes to college. Her top school choice is the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, though she is also considering attending UNC- Charlotte and Lee University.
She plans to become a nurse.
“Most of my childhood was spent around nurses and doctors,” Lindsey said. “It just inspired me to want to become a nurse. My mom is also a nurse, and is a big influence over my life. She’s one of the main reasons I want to become a nurse.”
Lindsey is planning future blood drives, but did not immediately have a firm date for them. She will host one at her school and may hold a separate one called “Holiday Helpers” in early 2016.
Reach reporter Imari Scarbrough at 704-994-5471 and follow her on Twitter @ImariScarbrough.