Future Doc Earns School Cash Through Blood Drive

Marcus Coleman knows the all too well the challenges of getting people to give blood. The 17-year-old Syosset High School student is planning for a career in medicine and is well-versed in the objections.

"Most people who think they can't give blood can," Coleman said Friday at the Syosset Fire Department, where he and his family are running a blood drive through 9 p.m. "They talk about the different medications they're on, but the truth is that there are only a few medications [you take] where you can't give blood."

The teen hopes to educate the public while furthering his own education. Friday's drive is part of a Long Island Blood Services (LIBS) program where high school students can earn scholarship money by spearheading blood drives.

Students can earn $500 per drive. Long Island Blood Services Account Manager for Donor Recruitment Donna Penczak said during Monday's blood drive at St. Edward the Confessor that one student she knew was already working on her third.

Marcus' dad Marc, is a volunteer with the Syosset Fire Department, and Marcus is a member of the department's Explorers program. Marc donated blood a year ago and started receiving e-mails from LIBS that included information on the scholarship program.

"I think my dad turned me on to the fact that you really can do things for other people and help yourself at the same time," Marcus said.

This is one family that doesn't take excuses when it comes to donating blood. Mom Patty noted that many women feel that they can't donate.

"Women don't feel they can because their iron levels get too low," she said. "But you can counteract that by eating green, leafy vegetables."

"Raisin Bran, too," Marc said.

Sounds like the whole family is ready for medical school.

Donations for the blood drive will be accepted through 9 p.m. Click here for contact information on the Syosset Fire Department. If you can't make it Friday, donate in the next two weeks at LIBS locations, fill in group No. 65030 and it will be applied to Marcus Coleman's total. For more information on scholarship blood drives, contact Donna Penczak of Long Island Blood Services at 516-478-5041 or dpenczak@nybloodcenter.org.