Nick CamachoThe Student Health Advisory Council (SHAC) hosted its winter quarter blood drive yesterday on Mott Lawn from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
“It was the best turnout we’ve ever had and we definitely saw over 100 people,” said Chris Messick, agricultural business junior and SHAC member.
SHAC is an organization run entirely by Cal Poly students who work with Health Services to make sure Cal Poly is offering the best health care coverage and services to students.
“We are ambassadors to the Health Center,” said Mychael Patrick, kinesiology senior and president of SHAC. “We aren’t related to the peer health advisers because we do different things like Web site design for the Health Center.”
SHAC also evaluates the quality of care in the Health Center through surveys and holds fundraisers throughout the year for organizations to help fight diseases like Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) that the group has focused on in past years.
This quarter’s blood drive was set up to give students an opportunity to give back to the community. “If you start when you’re young, you’re more likely to donate in later years,” Patrick said. “You can donate and it’s completely free.”
SHAC tries to hold a blood drive once a quarter, along with fundraisers that will be starting later this year and will continue throughout the spring.
While they’ve raised funds for ALS in the past, this year SHAC will fundraise for the American Cancer Association.
“Last year we did a big ALS fundraiser where we did six different fundraisers and each group raised a certain amount of money,” said Erin Senozan, biological chemistry senior and vice president of SHAC. “This year, we are doing the same thing for the American Cancer Society and fundraising will start within the next two weeks and will go until April.”
Different groups within SHAC that are headed by board members will host activities every week to two weeks at places like Woodstock’s, Cold Stone Creamery and even guest bartending at Corner View where SHAC members bartend for the night and their tips go to the club.
“Everyone joins a group headed by one of the board members and they are in charge of setting up and advertising for their event,” Senozan said. “Everyone is very active and goes to everything, but as an executive board member we kind of do our own fundraising and make sure the others are doing theirs properly.”
SHAC has anywhere from 22 to 35 members at their meetings on Tuesdays at 11 a.m. in the medical library of the Health Center. “The majority of us are in science and math and have joined because we knew past presidents and people who we’ve had classes with that have been in SHAC,” Patrick said.
With the success of this quarter’s kick-off blood drive, the club plans on having a bone marrow drive next quarter. “These are great ways to get our name out there and benefit the community,” Senozan said.
SHAC’s group of diverse undergraduate and graduate students wants to continue their commitment to Health Services and encourage anyone to get involved. For more information contact the Health Services office at 756-1211.