Kate Rose is on a mission to help save lives.

You can hear the enthusiasm in her voice as she talks about the difference she and 53 blood donors made in the lives of 159 people last May, when the Schroon Lake Central School Senior staged her first blood drive.

“The blood donated last year helped save 159 lives,” Kate told Schroon Laker. “It’s a good feeling knowing that so many people were helped.”

So successful was her first endeavor, Kate is organizing a second blood drive for May 7.

Kate said she got the idea for the blood drive while talking to her dad, a New York State Trooper, about doing a community service project.

“He helped me get in touch with the right people to get this launched. He was a very important part of this”

From that point on, it was all Kate, with some help from classmates.

“I was overwhelmed at first, unsure of what I was doing. I had to get permission from the School Board. Schroon Lake hadn’t had a blood drive for ten years so I was nervous about how many donors I would get.”

Kate worked closely with the American Red Cross in Albany. They supplied the staff for the event and gave Kate a goal of getting 22 donors.

“They wanted me to get at least 22 donors. We got 53 and we had to turn away walk ins. It was an exciting day. I wanted the event to bring the community together. I got to meet new people and hear their stories about why they were donating blood”.

Among those donating that day were four students and 10 teachers. Unfortunately Kate couldn’t give blood. “I didn’t meet the height and weight requirement. But my dad did the double pump, giving both blood and plasma.”

The goal number of donors the Red Cross has set for Kate for her upcoming drive is 60 donors. “I really want to get at least 75.”

Kate says the experience she got from staging the blood drive helped her get a scholarship at SUNY Plattsburg, where she will be a freshman this fall studying Communication Disorders and Science.

“The lesson that I took away with me from the blood drive was that I enjoyed working with people. I wanted to do that for a living. I want to work with older people and young children.”

Where and When: May 7, Schroon Lake Central School. 12 pm - 6 pm. Email Kate at sportogirl101@verizon.net to make an appointment.