Indiana Blood Center is pleased to announce Westfield High School as the winner of the Colts Leadership Challenge, a competition among Indiana high school football teams to help boost blood supply throughout the summer. One of 19 high schools from around the state to participate in the Colts Leadership Challenge, Westfield High School hosted the largest blood drive with a total of 82 people participating.
As their reward for recruiting the most donations from family members, friends and community leaders, 160 football players and coaches are attending a practice at the Colts Training Camp in Anderson on July 31.
“Our players have demonstrated a real hunger to make a difference by serving others,” said Coach Jake Gilbert, head football coach at Westfield High School. “We appreciate the opportunity Indiana Blood Center has given us to make a positive impact on our community.”
Members from each team met for a kickoff meeting at the Colts Training Facility in Indianapolis in May. The meeting included a leadership conference with new Colts’ Head Coach Chuck Pagano, photo opportunities with the Super Bowl trophy and a tour of the training facility. The teams then coordinated blood drives throughout the month of July, bringing in a total of 641 units from donors at participating high schools across Indiana.
“During the school year, students typically bring in about 30 percent of the blood that Indiana Blood Center provides for area hospitals, which means the summer months are a challenging time,” said Wendy Mehringer, chief marketing officer at Indiana Blood Center. “We’ve seen a great sense of leadership throughout this drive and we’re thankful to all the schools that took part. They’ve proven that saving lives can be a rewarding and fun way to spend the summer.”