The Bob's High School Heroes Scholarship Program recognizes high school students who help increase blood donations in their schools. It awards $250,000 in scholarships each year to students who organize blood drives that collect at least 30% of eligible student donations. The program aims to encourage youth involvement in supporting the American Red Cross blood supply, which is important as high school drives account for up to 20% of annual donations. It has awarded nearly $650,000 in scholarships since 2009 to students in several Northeast states who meet donation benchmarks with their school drives.

1. High school students play an important role in supporting a sufficient blood supply. Blood
donations at high school and college blood drives account for up to 20 percent of donations
during the school year, which is why scholarship programs like Bob's High School Heroes are
important in ensuring blood is available to patients whenever and wherever it is needed.
And that is why Bob's Discount Furniture and the American Red Cross have launched the
annual Bob's Discount Furniture $250,000 High School Heroes Scholarship Program for the
2014-2015 school years.
The Bob's High School Heroes Scholarship Program recognizes students who make
exceptional contributions to the American Red Cross blood donation program in their
schools, and helps encourage young people to become involved by helping patients in need.
"For more than 18 years, Bobs Discount Furniture has been an unwavering supporter of the
Red Cross and the patients and communities we serve," said Robert Kessler, CEO and
American Red Cross Penn-Jersey Blood Services Region. "The Scholarship program helps the
Red Cross make a difference in the lives of patients and empowers high school students to
take a leadership role."

2. "We're proud to celebrate the dedication and civic contributions of high school
seniors who better their community by supporting the Red Cross and its life -
saving mission," said Bobs Kaufman, president emeritus of Bob's Discount
Furniture."Since this Scholarship program launched in 2009, we've awarded
nearly $650,000 to hundreds of students in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New
Jersey and New York and look forward to touching more lives this year."
Kaufman knows the crucial importance of sufficient blood supply. Medical crises
required two of his family members to receive many blood transfusions. He lost
his father Leo Kaufman and his 16-year-old nephew Scott Mulready to leukemia.
The Kaufman family is forever thankful for the extra time with them made
possible, in part, by blood donors. In fact, with the help of employees, customers
and members of the community, Bob's Discount Furniture blood drives have
collected more than 38,00 units of lifesaving blood. The Manchester,
Connecticut-based Bob's Discount Furniture enterprise has 54 Stores located
throughout New England, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Virginia, and
Pennsylvania; it is the 15th-largest U.S. furniture chain.

3. Students who host at least two high school blood drives throughout the year and
achieve an annual participations rate of at least 30 percent of age-eligible students are
qualified to win a base scholarship of $250. Students who meet those initial
requirement are also eligible to win additional scholarship, including up to eight
$1,000 grand prize scholarship per winning school, which is determined by totaling
the blood units donated from each state are determined by the number of students
who donate and the total units collected. For complete contest rules and to get
involved, visit http://www.mybobs.com/outrech/high-schoolheroes.
To donate blood download the American Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit
redcrossblod.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS(1-800-733-2767)to make an appointment
or for more information. All blood types are needed to ensure a reliable supply for
patients. A blood donor card or driver's license or two other forms of identification are
required at check-in. Individuals who are 17 years of age(16 with parental consent in
some states), weigh at least 110 pounds and are in generally good health may be
eligible to donate blood. High school students and other donors 18 years of age and
younger also have to meet certain height and weight requirements.
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