Who: Kaitlin Van Buren (’11)
Position: Drive Chair
What is Bone Marrow Drive?
The Alan Bukzin Memorial Bone Marrow Drive was founded in 1991 in the hope of saving a professor’s life here on campus. The Drive was continued by Jay Bukzin (’94) in an effort to find a match for his brother, Alan. Every year, the Bone Marrow Drive raises money and awareness to prepare for our annual drive, where we register people ages 18-65 into the National Marrow Donor Program national registry. It only takes a cheek swab to enter someone into the National Registry, but this simple test costs $52 per person. Our attempts are to fundraise over $60,000 every year so that anyone who wishes to be entered into the National Registry will be able to do so for free.
This is our 20th year running a drive on William & Mary’s campus. In fact, we are the largest campus drive in the nation! In our 19 years we have registered over 12,000 people into the National Registry, which has led to over 275 matches and over 90 life-saving procedures. Last year we entered over 700 new people into the National Registry. This year our goal is to add another 1000 people!
How did you become involved with Bone Marrow Drive?
In high school, I was very involved with fundraising for the Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters (CHKD) in Norfolk, VA. When I came to William & Mary, I joined a sorority and loved the philanthropy aspect of it, yet I still felt like a part of me was missing. I heard about the Bone Marrow Drive through a friend and decided to volunteer on Drive Day. Instantly, I noticed the passion the Steering Committee had for their cause, and I knew that I wanted to be a part of it. I filled out an application for Steering Committee on Drive Day of my freshman year, interviewed, and have been on the committee for the last 3 years. It has truly been the best college decision I have made.
What are some of BMD’s biggest events of the year?
Every year, BMD hosts amazing events that cater to all sorts of people. In the fall, we have our annual 5K race, which coincides with Parents’ Weekend, and our wMTV night, which is a parody on popular MTV shows. In the spring, we host the Charter Day Gala, the Mr. William & Mary male pageant, and the Golf Tournament. All of these events help us raise money for our largest event…DRIVE DAY on April 13th! Please feel free to check out our website for more information and dates for our upcoming events (http://wmpeople.wm.edu/site/page/bonemarrowdrive/welcome).
Have people from W&M been called to donate bone marrow?
Absolutely! In fact, I just discovered that a student was found to be a match this week. I love to hear about students being called to donate while they are still on campus because it shows us directly how our hard work is paying off. Once a student enters the national registry, he will remain in the registry until he turns 65 or decides to be removed from the list. Many students are called to donate after they leave W&M, but they typically report back to us with stories about how the donation went.
What does your position as Drive Chair entail?
As Drive Chair, I am responsible for overlooking the Steering Committee and helping them in any way that I can—whether it be to brainstorm ideas about ways to improve our events or help them contact potential donors. I also am the liaison between the national registry and our drive. The largest task I have is organizing Drive Day and delegating jobs to make the day as successful as possible.
Random Question: What song do you play on “repeat” on your iPod?
Right now, I rock out to Florence And The Machine’s “Dog Days Are Over” as I hope for the winter weather to disappear.
Random Fact about you:
I have an unhealthy obsession with watching TLC and HGTV!