WINNERS ‘LEAD THE WAY’ WITH CREATIVE CAMPAIGNS

5 AREA HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS EARN CBC, VECTREN COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIPS

DAYTON, Ohio – Five area high school seniors creatively combined artistic talent, leadership skills, and empathy for those in need of life-saving blood donations to each win $1,000 in college tuition assistance from the Community Blood Center (CBC) Lead the Way Scholarship Program sponsored by Vectren.

“This was by far the deepest, most creative group of applicants we have received in the history of our scholarship program,” said CBC Education Specialist Cristina Pickle. “There were so many clever ideas and really thoughtful approaches to encouraging blood donations. It meant some very tough choices for our judges.”

They awarded the top scores and the $1,000 scholarships to graduating seniors Bethany Faile from Beavercreek High School; Jay Bryant from Chaminade Julienne High School; Joseph Hall from Talawanda High School; Jackie Lentz from Lebanon High School; and Elizabeth Kimmel from Carlisle High School.
All applicants were challenged to imagine themselves as the leader of a school blood drive, responsible for creating a campaign that would successfully encourage fellow students to donate. They created a theme; built a marketing campaign with the use of posters, flyers, brochures, t-shirt designs and videos; and supported their marketing materials with research into blood science and recruitment strategies.

The result was five innovative campaigns intended to relate well to a new generation of high school blood donors:

Bethany Faile produced a video for her theme, “Have Love. Give Life. Leave a Legacy. Recycle Hope.” The video follows Bethany’s father through a blood donation, effectively edited with music and her father’s testimonial about how blood transfusions saved the life of Bethany’s mother soon after childbirth.

Jay Bryant used his experience as a young organizer of several blood drives at his church and his high school to inspire the theme, “Think Survival, Give Blood, Be a Superhero.”

Joseph Hall built a comprehensive marketing campaign to support his theme, “I am the One.” His uniquely stylized flyers and posters effectively dismissed fears and misconceptions about blood donations while reinforcing the choice to give the gift of life.

Jackie Lentz brought a holistic approach to her campaign with the theme “Recycle Life, Give Blood.” She drew a connection between the community responsibility of environmental sustainability to the equally shared responsibility of supporting a safe and ample blood supply.

Elizabeth Kimmel made her campaign a call to action, identifying blood donors as those who make a heroic decision to protect the lives of others. She used iconic lifeguard images to support her theme “Lifeguard. I Give Blood.”

Funding for the Lead the Way Scholarship Program is provided by Vectren Corporation.