By Melanie Petrucci, Senior Community Reporter
Shrewsbury – The Shrewsbury High School (SHS) Robotics Team 467 is hosting a virtual blood drive with the American Red Cross through Tuesday, May 4, 2021. Those who wish to donate may do so anywhere in the country.
Part of the mission of SHS Team 467 is to forge “a strong bond between the team and the community.” However, during a pandemic this has proved to be a challenge because so many community activities that they normally engage in such as Spirit of Shrewsbury, Annual Apple Pie Fundraiser, Mind-storm Mayhem and Girls in Stem Workshop have been cancelled.
Lori Lingard, the team mentor, said that the team has been able to meet remotely over Zoom and build basic skills such as electrical, mechanical and programming.
Likewise, the team’s outreach group looked for ways that they could interact with the community. They discovered that they could host a virtual blood drive.
“It seemed like an ideal way to have a no-contact event that would benefit our community,” Lingard stated. She herself is a lifelong blood donor, she added, starting at age 16.
She noted that there are age and weight restrictions for student donors under the age of 18. To learn about these restrictions click here.
Participation is by appointment only. To sign up click here.
The team’s goal is 100 blood donations but they hope to exceed that number.
“Our hashtag for Facebook and Twitter, if people would like to share a message or picture after donation, is #robotblooddrive,” Lingard shared. “And if you do [share] please tell us how you found out about us.”
Photos/submitted
Click here for more school news.
