News Release June 05, 2006

Bonfils Blood Center Announces High School Student Body Challenge Champions

For more information contact:
Julie Scott 303.361.2873
Bonfils Blood Center

DENVER (June 05, 2006) - To coincide with the end of the school year, Bonfils Blood Center is pleased to announce the winners of the 2005/2006 Student Body High School Challenge. Each year Bonfils teams up to host blood drives with high schools around the state in an effort to encourage and inspire young people to become lifelong blood donors. Awards are given in four categories: Large School Overall, Small School Overall, Most First-time Donors and Greatest Improvement. A total 104 schools participated in the 2005/2006 challenge.

Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo. was declared the Student Body High School Challenge Champion in the Large School Overall category which is based on the total number of eligible juniors and seniors. A total of 176 units of blood were donated at two drives during the school year. The Small School Overall award was clenched by Burlington High School in Burlington, Colo. The school hosted three community blood drives and collected 236 units of blood. Warren Tech High School located in Lakewood, Colo. received the Most First-time Donors award for the second straight year with a total of 109 first-time donors. The Greatest Improvement award went to Holy Family High School in Broomfield, Colo. The school increased participation in the challenge by nearly 86 percent over the previous year. Trophies will be presented to each school in the fall.

Additionally, every student at a participating high school had the opportunity to register to win a trip, sponsored by Comcast, to visit the MTV studios in New York. The winner, from Ralston Valley High School in Arvada, Colo. was chosen in a random drawing last month.

For more than 60 years, Bonfils Blood Center has supported the community blood supply and has played an instrumental role in the lives of patients in need throughout Colorado and beyond. Bonfils Blood Center supplies blood to more than 200 healthcare facilities and needs to collect 4,350 blood donations weekly to meet the needs of the community and to be prepared for any unexpected events. For information about Bonfils Blood Center, please visit www.bonfils.org or call 303.341.4000 or 800.365.0006.