The Community Blood Center of the Carolinas (CBCC) is giving high school and college students a chance to earn a scholarship and save local lives through its Eighth Annual “Students Saving Summer” Scholarship Program.

Students who organize and host a successful blood drive with CBCC between June 1 and Sept. 30, 2016 have the chance to earn scholarship money for their secondary education. Those with the top five producing blood drives will each receive a $1,000 scholarship from CBCC. Since 2009, CBCC has awarded almost 400 scholarships and grants.

“Students, who make up more than twenty percent of our donor base, play a vital role in helping save local lives,” said Martin Grable, president and CEO of Community Blood Center of the Carolinas. “Since our blood supply tends to drop in the summer with families on vacation and school blood drives on hiatus, ‘Students Saving Summer’ is as critical to our summer blood supply, as education is to these students’ futures. Our scholarship program is a way we can give back to our students for the amazing effort they make in helping patients in our area hospitals.”

To be eligible for the scholarship, participating students must hold their blood drive between June 1 and Sept. 30, 2016; choose a location; recruit donors; recruit friends, family members and neighbors to donate; and collect a minimum of 25 units of blood. Each student will be paired up with a CBCC representative who will provide assistance with planning the blood drive. The CBCC scholarship donation must be directly transferred to the college, university or other learning establishment of each recipient’s choice.

For more information or to participate in the Students Saving Summer Scholarship Program, contact Kim Jones at 704-972-4727 or at KLJones@cbcc.us. Students are encouraged to contact CBCC as soon as possible to schedule their blood drive.

About Community Blood Center of the Carolinas

The Community Blood Center of the Carolinas (CBCC) is a non-profit community-based blood center and the primary blood supplier to 27 regional hospitals, serving 20 North Carolina and three South Carolina counties. CBCC focuses exclusively on gathering red blood cells, platelets and plasma from volunteer donors to save local lives here in the Carolinas. Every drop stays here, saving local lives. CBCC is a member of America’s Blood Centers, North America’s largest network of community-based, independent blood centers providing more than 50% of the nation’s blood supply.

For more information on hosting a blood drive or donating blood in your area, visit www.cbcc.us or call 704-972-4700.

Follow the Community Blood Center of the Carolinas on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/BloodCenter, on Instagram https://instagram.com/cbccarolinas/ and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/CBCCarolinas.