With the holiday season fully in swing, BioScience Academy organized their annual Be The Match fundraiser at Foothill Technology High School (Foothill Tech) from Dec. 4 to Dec. 22, 2023.
The fundraiser raised money with students donating $1 or more to the cause, with each dollar rewarding them with a candy cane for their contribution. The money was collected in every science class, where donation jars and candy canes were kept and bright, festive and attention grabbing posters advertised the fundraiser.
Be The Match is a national service project for HOSA-Future Heath Professionals, an organization that gives students the opportunity to promote healthcare in their community. The festive donations from the fundraiser go towards saving lives, with the money being sent to a foundation that allows for critical marrow transplants through a diverse set of donors and impactful fundraising.
Mika Anderson, the BioScience Academy Director, emphasized the importance of BioScience holding this fundraiser and others like it. “It helps [BioScience students] think about a cause bigger than themselves,” Anderson stated. She expressed “It’s in line with their goals of giving to the community and organizing something that is actually meaningful … this is a gift that actually can be life changing for somebody.”
The fundraising was productive, Aditi Shanbhag ‘25, junior lead for Be The Match, claimed, “It’s been pretty successful … with the candy cane drive as always, that was really successful and we got a lot of money from that every day.” Shanbhag acknowledged the popularity of the candy canes, saying, “People are more likely to donate money if they get a candy cane in return.”
After the money from the fundraiser is raised, the crucial funds are sent to the Be The Match organization, and straight to patients. “Over 90 percent of the money that we are donating is going directly to patients and directly to the research foundation,” Shanbhag explained.
In regard to the use of the funds, they are impactful in more than one way. “There’s a wide variety of ways that the funds are actually used directly for patients,” Anderson stated, explaining that the donations go towards temporary recovery housing and care packages for patients as well as research for bone marrow, leukemia and blood diseases, as well as many other powerful uses.
As winter break approached, students were able to contribute during the season of giving by donating to an impactful cause and organization. As the successful fundraiser came to a close, students who made donations were able to save lives, giving many marrow transplant patients vital funds.
