As part of their Grade 12 Recreation and Leadership class at Craig Kielburger Secondary School (CKSS) in Milton, students are required to organize an event that includes the entire school or beyond.
Today, with the help of
Canadian Blood Services and One Match, the class organized a blood and bone clinic. They invited students, staff members and the community at large to donate blood and/or conduct a cheek swab for stem cell research purposes.
Teacher Laura Holms says these kinds of events are effective ways for students to build important leadership, troubleshooting and resiliency skills, and understanding commitment to a project or issue, among others.
“For students, it’s about presenting the event idea to the class, organizing it and implementing the event on the actual day,” she says.
This year, a decision was made to combine a blood donor clinic with One Match and to invite members of the community to attend.
“We thank the community for coming out to support our events,” Holms says. “We are happy to be able to bring the community together to help.”
For Grade 12 student Alyissa Sheechoria, these kinds of events help improve her organizational and communication skills.
“When planning something like a blood and bone clinic, we have to take everything into account.”