DOUGLASS TWP., Pa. –A boarding school in Berks County is celebrating its 80th anniversary this weekend, but it’s using the occasion for more than just a party.
The Pine Forge Academy is trying to save lives.
Hundreds came out to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Pine Forge Academy. This year, though, it’s about more than the school’s history. It’s about trying to give back to patients who need bone marrow transplants.
“I’ve been a bone marrow activist since 1995, and with God’s help, I’ve helped, I’ve registered many, many people — thousands into the registry,” said Rocky Twyman, who graduated from Pine Forge in the 1960s.
He says he’s personally seen how difficult it can be to get bone marrow when you need it.
“My nephew needed a bone marrow transplant, and we went all over the South to try to find someone for him, and he eventually did find somebody for him,” Twyman said. “So it just means so much to me, man.”
It means so much because that transplant saved his nephew’s life.
“It’s just a marvelous procedure because they almost have an immediate recovery,” Twyman said. “So it’s worth it to be out here today.”
Bone marrow drive at Pine Forge Academy.
WFMZ-TV | Max Sanchez Josa
Pine Forge Academy Principal Addriene Warfield-Rhodes thinks it’s worth it, too. She’s proud to have her campus used to find donors.
“Today, this is the survey. This is us swabbing and figuring out what people need,” Warfield-Rhodes said.
It’s also the first step in matching a donor with a patient — a unique and important way to give back.
“It gives us an opportunity to connect more with our community and really service more needs that we don’t always get to do,” Warfield-Rhodes said.
It’s a service that will extend Pine Forge’s legacy far beyond its grounds for another 80 years to come.
“We’re so thankful that we can use this event to save lives,” Twyman said.