Collier students in the habit of giving
Asbury Park Press – Thursday, January 20, 2005
By Alesha Williams

The holiday season has ended, but many Collier High School students continue to give year-round, development director Jackie St. Angel said.
Last year, students involved in the school’s service-learning program visited the elderly in nursing homes, volunteered at soup kitchens and decorated a home for sick children on holidays.

They kicked the new year off with more giving—students donated a total of 28 pints of blood to the American Red Cross during a blood drive held at the school Monday.
“I volunteer for everything—that’s just me,” said Johnathan Ryan, 16, a Collier sophomore. “I feel really good about it.”
As a volunteer cadet with Little Silver Emergency Medical Services and Fire Company and the Oceanport Fire Explorers, Ryan said he understands the importance of donating blood.
He was one of several students who prepared for the drive, sent out e-mails and encouraged other students to get involved.
“There’s such a shortage that we really wanted to try to get a lot more donors involved,” Ryan said.
The need for donors has increased since crises including the war in Iraq and the tsunami that struck parts of Asia and Africa in December, according to an American Red Cross representative.
The organization reports that it has less than a one-day supply of some blood types, and less than a four-day supply of others.
The service-learning students made a significant donation in spite of having a relatively small student body, St. Angel said. The students raised 30 pints at a blood drive held last year, when Collier was the only participating school in the Pennsylvania-New Jersey region to reach its goal, St. Angel said.
“We have only 150 students, and the students have to be age 17 or over to donate, so it really speaks volumes that they have been able to raise as much as they have,” St. Angel said.
“The whole point of service learning is for the chance to become aware of community needs and to do something about it,” St. Angel said. “The students feel good about themselves and about doing something for others, so it’s a win-win situation.”
The donations will support the American Red Cross’ Pennsylvania-New Jersey region, which will distribute supplies to the military, hospitals and other blood centers.