Suburban Chicago teen Kelly Robinson honored for collecting the gift of life
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Blood donation numbers typically drop in the winter months when schools are not in session,
but one teen from the northwest suburbs has been bolstering supplies for years.
And now she has a new prize for her efforts.
CBS 2's Sara Machi shows you how she's gotten some national recognition.
Still quiet for winter break, this Arlington Heights school comes alive to collect the gift of life.
Mount Pleasant teen Kelly Robinson is holding her 12th blood donation Drive. It's a passion she picked up before she was old enough to donate herself.
"It's really nice to see people who we know, like familiar faces," Robinson said. "Sometimes there will be people who come to this drive where it's like the only time I see them every year."
"Kelly won an award in eighth grade. The award was named after a child who passed away at her school had leukemia, and she learned through that process how important the donations were for cancer treatment, said her mother Erin Robinson.
When the doors open, the first of dozens of donors begin to come through.
Kelly Robinson has filled so many chairs, and raised so much money, that she now has a rare honor: Induction into the National Blood Donation Hall of Fame.
"It was kind of really hard to believe," Robinson said. "It's so cool to realize how big of a deal it is."
"Many people are recognized because they have been lifelong contributors, lifelong blood donors, and in her case she has been recognized because she has inspired so many other kids to give. And so it doesn't always have to be something that just you do. It can be something that you do to motivate others," said her mother Erin Robinson.
"So I had about 10 blood transfusions and about another 10 platelets."
Volunteer Krisha Yob is here, her leukemia is now in remission.
"It will bring tears to my eyes seeing everyone in here because just knowing that without them, I wouldn't be here today," Yob said.
"It really helps. Doing something that you know can help other people with leukemia. My sister passed in February of leukemia. So we always try to get blood because she was getting a lot of blood at the end," added donor Amy Koziol.
Around the room, a network of donors and patients, a group Kelly started creating at 14, is a group she's now able to join herself.
