Peter Zucca of Harleysville continues to help save lives by hosting American Red Cross blood drives and has earned a $2,500 scholarship as a result of his lifesaving efforts. 

As part of the Red Cross Leaders Save Lives program, the Montgomery County Community College sophomore hosted a blood drive on Dec. 28 during his winter break at Towamencin Mennonite Church in Kulpsville, which collected a total 140 blood donations. As a result, Peter was eligible to be entered into a drawing for a scholarship and was chosen as a winner. He was also awarded a gift card. 

Since 2015, Peter has organized dozens of blood drives annually through his own Peter Powerhouse Foundation. The non-profit organization strives improve the lives of children currently fighting childhood cancer by providing donations to pediatric cancer treatment facilities and contributing financial support to researchers to improve the lives of childhood cancer survivors. 

The Peter Powerhouse Foundation was born out of Peter’s desire to give back. At only 10 months old, he was first diagnosed with cancer. In addition to undergoing chemotherapy, radiation treatment and surgery, Peter received 51 units of lifesaving blood. At age 12, he hosted his first blood drive, and since that time, the partnership between his foundation and the Red Cross has staged 117 blood drives and collected 11,673 units of blood. 

The Leaders Save Lives program encourages community-minded high school and college students to host blood drives to help maintain the blood supply for patients in need of lifesaving transfusions.

Students can sign up to host Leaders Save Lives blood drives during seasonal timeframes throughout the year. For more information, visit RedCrossBlood.org/LeadersSaveLives.

About the American Red Cross

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides comfort to victims of disasters; supplies about 40% of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; distributes international humanitarian aid; and supports veterans, military members and their families. The Red Cross is a nonprofit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to deliver its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or cruzrojaamericana.org, or follow us on social media.