Young Ambassador
Programme
The Give Blood 4 Good (GB4G) Young Ambassador Programme is an e-learning initiative aiming to improve education surrounding blood donation among high school students, so they know all about giving blood before they turn 17 - the age at which people are eligible to start donating blood.
Our charity’s mission is to get as many young people to donate blood as possible. Donating blood is a safe, simple and rewarding way for people to give back to society, often helping people at a critical point in their lives. Through working with organisations, schools and universities across the country, we’re aiming to improve education and increase participation in blood donation among young adults, and empower people to continue to give blood until they’re no longer able. Our Young Ambassador Programme was created to achieve exactly that: breakdown the fear and misconceptions that are commonly associated with the process of donating, so that when people are eligible to give blood at 17, they are well informed and excited to begin their journey.
Why should you get involved?
Hear directly from some of our Young Ambassadors at The Glasgow Academy
How does it work?
The programme is hosted on Moodle and uses e-learning resources to teach students a range of topics about blood donation, from learning about which blood types are compatible to the different reasons why someone might need a blood transfusion. As part of the programme, the Young Ambassadors are also encouraged to be creative and develop their own resources to share information about blood donation with their peers. This includes delivering PSHE lessons, coordinating fundraising / awareness events, as well as organising blood drives for those who are eligible to donate. Following the completion of these two components, students submit a 500-word reflection about the skills they developed, what they might do differently next time, and how they will continue to advocate for blood donation in the future.
A snapshot of our e-learning platform
What do the students do on the during the programme?
We feel what students learn on this programme is valuable beyond encouraging people to donate blood, as it will also help them build important,transferable skills, give them more confidence in their day-to-day lives, as well as enhance their CVs and university applications.
During the programme, the Young Ambassadors are encouraged to be creative and develop their own resources to share information about blood donation with their peers, as well as organise events to improve education surrounding blood donation. Following this, students write a reflection on what they’ve learned, the skills they’ve gained, what they would do differently next time, and what they would still like to work on. Encouraging students to reflect is an essential component of the programme, so that what they can build on the skills they have learned on the programme and take this forward into whatever they may do next.
What have some of our Young Ambassadors done in the past?
From organising blood drives and giving blood for the first time, to delivering assembly and PSHE presentations, to hosting bingo nights, our Young Ambassadors can do it all! Check out what our Young Ambassadors at The Glasgow Academy, Jordanhill and the Anderson High School have achieved during our programme:
Learn more through some of our Young Ambassador’s reflections:
“The programme structure is excellent and clearly outlined. The quizzes at the end helped reinforce my knowledge and allowed me to learn from my mistakes. Each section to the course was well thought out and challenging, allowing me to balance my school life with a vital extracurricular. We ran an event to raise awareness for this charity for younger years who will soon be of age to donate blood. We as a group thought it was vital to target younger years to destigmatise blood donation and let them think about it as a fun and rewarding experience.”
What did our Young Ambassadors learn?
“This charity has helped me grow as a person by teaching me key teamwork skills and educating me on just how vital blood donation is. Through this experience, I have also managed to overcome my fear of needles and I will be back donating blood shortly. I didn’t know it was so easy and hassle free to donate blood which is used to save lives globally and I think that more people should sign up to do the same.”
What is required from the school to deliver the programme?
The programme requires that a teacher within the school acts as the main contact for delivering the programme. However we at GB4G have designed the programme to minimise the input required from teacher’s so that the programme is not overly time intensive for teaching staff. As the programme is delivered via the Moodle platform, the teacher’s main responsibilities are:
To organise the initial student sign-ups and communicate their names and emailaddresses to GB4G
To allow some time within the school curriculum for students to complete the programme
To approve activities students would like to complete in the raising awareness module, and provide assistance as they require e.g., in organising a fundraising event, blood drive, or presentation
Set a deadline for the submission of the final reflection
To be the point of contact between GB4G and the school for any questions or queries which arise during the programme