WMU Home > About WMU > WMU News

WMU News

Broncos win Blood Challenge with CMU

Feb. 17, 2006

KALAMAZOO--Western Michigan University won the annual Blood Challenge with Central Michigan University for the first time in four years, collecting 665 pints of usable blood for the American Red Cross.

Thirteen separate blood drives were held in various locations on WMU's main campus between Jan. 24 and Feb. 9. Traditional rival CMU collected 459 pints in the competition and for the first time since 2001, will surrender the traveling plaque held by the winning school. The plaque will be presented to WMU student representatives at ARC's annual blood donor, blood drive recognition breakfast, March 30 in Kalamazoo.

"The vast majority of the blood donated was given by students," says Terri Franklin of the Greater Kalamazoo Area Chapter of the American Red Cross. WMU faculty and staff and the general public also contributed to the WMU pint total.

WMU's participation is coordinated by a number of registered student organizations, including fraternities, sororities, residence halls and special interest RSOs. Each organization typically sponsors one of the individual blood drives. Sometimes two organizations will team up to co-sponsor a drive.

This is the seventh year of the friendly competition between CMU and WMU, which benefits the blood supplies of the ARC Great Lakes Region. The Blood Challenge between the two schools began as an annual fall event. This year, a "mini-challenge" was held during fall semester, but the main event was moved to early spring semester.

To locate ARC blood drives in your area and make an appointment to donate blood, visit the Web at www.givelife.org.

Media contact: Thom Myers, (269) 387-8400, thom.myers@wmich.edu

WMU News
Office of University Relations
Western Michigan University
1903 W Michigan Ave
Kalamazoo MI 49008-5433 USA
(269) 387-8400
www.wmich.edu/wmu/news