LHU student Kate Chorney shows some spirit at a blood drive by donning the costume of a mascot.

LOCK HAVEN, Pa. - The Northeast Pennsylvania Region (NEPA) chapter of the American Red Cross has honored Lock Haven University with the Sponsor of the Year Award for 2006-2007.

The award is presented one time each year to an American Red Cross sponsor within the region that has gone above and beyond with dedication and support of the mission of the American Red Cross Blood Services, according to Susan Ricker, NEPA region account manager.

American Red Cross sponsors from all over NEPA region that encompasses 24 counties are eligible for the award. Sponsors are nominated by account managers, and the NEPA Board of Directors selects award recipients based on the amount of drives sponsored during the year, productive units collected, the ability to recruit donors, education about blood donation and the ability of the sponsor to create special events to promote the drives.

“Lock Haven University was chosen because of the dedication and hard work they put into the drives they hold every year,” Ricker said. “Each blood drive is a special event with goals set as high as 160 units of productive blood.”

“We do four to five blood drives a year with goals of 100 to 180 donors,” said Wendy Walsh, LHU student life coordinator who oversees blood drives at the university. “We achieve anywhere from 98 percent to 120 percent of our goal. We have a very high rate of first time donors and many volunteers.”