Students in Warwick Valley Middle School's ukulele club started a drive to add 250 people to a national bone marrow registry.

The club's donor drive is especially meaningful to seventh grader Callie Romig.

"My uncle had a bone marrow transplant in 2022, and that's the reason he's with us today," Romig says.

Registering more donors helps doctors more quickly find matching donors for patients who have been diagnosed with cancer and other diseases.

Romig says her uncle had to wait three months for his transplant.

"It's made me mature faster, like, this thing can actually happen, and it's not just my family that's going through it. A bunch of other families are going through it," Romig says.

Club advisor Shane Peters says philanthropy is part of the ukulele program.

Last year, the group raised $6,000 for cancer research after Peters' mother was diagnosed with cancer.

"Never really think there's a bad time, not just to teach them music, but to show them the power that they have to help those around them when they come together," Peter says.

So far, for this year's campaign, the club has signed up 70 new bone marrow donors. To get those last 180, they are planning events at school and setting up tables at sporting events.

Romig says this group has a lot of heart.

"It feels really good that everybody's learning about what happens and how to help people. It just feels really good," Romig says.

Registering as a donor just takes a signature and a cheek swab. The donor might get called on later to donate bone marrow and save someone's life.

If you are interested in helping the Warwick Valley Middle School's ukulele club, follow this link.