Life-Giving Solidarity: Marianist Schools Host Blood Donation Drives
- Admin
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
By hosting recent blood donation drives, the Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory School and St. Mary’s South Side Catholic High School communities transformed their Marianist values into concrete, life-saving acts of solidarity and community connection.
CMCP’s Blood Donation Drive Advances the Core Goals of the Marianist Family Encounters Project
by Patricia Brown, RN, and Bro. Jack Ventura, SM
The Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory School community continues to live out the goals of the Marianist Family Encounters Project. Goal 1 states that we promote justice, peace, and the Integrity of Creation, specifically listening to the cry of the poor. In Goal 5, we “Empower the local community by promoting family spirit and solidarity within our community and society at large. Through this lens, we sponsored two blood donation drives at CMCP. (December 2025 & March 2026). These events did more than collect blood—they embodied the project’s central goals of encounter, formation, and mission in tangible, life‑giving ways.
In creating spaces where people meet one another with dignity, openness, and mutual care, the Blood Donation Drive becomes a space of encounter, forming new relationships and deepening existing ones. Conversations flowed easily, and the atmosphere reflected the Marianist conviction that community is built one encounter at a time.
Another key goal of the Marianist Family Encounters Project is to form individuals and our community to live their faith through concrete acts of love. The Blood Donation Drive offered a powerful formative moment, allowing me to witness firsthand how simple actions can save lives. By participating in the simple act of donating blood, we understand more deeply what it means to be a community of disciples, expressed through shared responsibility for the well‑being of others.
Each blood donation can save up to 3 lives, meaning the collective effort of our school community will ripple far beyond the event itself. This is the Marianist mission in action: ordinary people offering extraordinary hope.
Update sent by Bro. Jack Ventura, SM,
Ministry Lead, Marianist Encounters,
Director, Mission Integration Team,
Hollywood, FL
St. Mary's South Side Annual Blood Drive
by Curt Sidorski
The St. Mary’s South Side’s annual community blood drive was a huge success. As a community, we raised 33 units, surpassing our community goal of 29 units. This is enough donation to save nearly 100 lives. Many of our teachers gladly gave up their prep periods to donate, and we had parents come in and give up their time and donate blood, as well. The day-long drive was staffed by our students, who conducted themselves with professionalism and purpose, with ample support from Red Cross professionals. We are particularly proud that many of our students overcame their trepidations with needles to become first-time donors. We are extremely gratified that our community continues to make this a successful yearly event.
Update sent by Curt Sidorksi,
Co-Ministry Lead, Marianist Encounters,
Social Studies and Media Teacher,
St. Louis, MO.