RB held its first blood drive of the year on Monday, November 19th. Students and staff signed up to donate during all lunches Monday through Wednesday of the week prior to the drive. A total 92 pints were collected. The Student Association set the goal at 120 pints. Though this was not met, SA is still very pleased with the results of the blood drive. Because each donation can be used to save up to three lives, the blood collected at the drive has the potential to help up to 276 people in need of blood.
There were 141 students who signed up to donate. However, there were about forty people who did not show up the day of the drive. Currently, SA is investigating why they chose not to participate so that they can address this issue in the future.
RB has been hosting blood drives for several years. In the 2002-2003 school year, they began hosting three blood drives per year. Prior to this, RB hosted only one or two blood drives per year. Due to the elimination of a second SA sponsor, the blood drives were reduced to two per year in 2011.
Members of SA worked very hard to promote the blood drive and encourage students to donate. Many students decide to help with the blood drive because they see it as an easy way to help others.
“It’s a selfless act that takes less than an hour and it can help as many as three people who need blood. It’s easy and can actually be fun to donate with friends. It is also good for your body and brain to recirculate blood regularly, helping to decrease the chance of heart disease,” said SA Sponsor Angela Ziola.
In addition to helping others, the blood drives also help raise scholarship money for RB. “We are granted money based on senior student enrollment and percentage of pints collected from each drive. So, the more total pints collected during a school year, the more money we get,” said Ziola.
Though the blood drive is over, people can still donate blood through Lifesource to raise scholarship money for RB. Donors only need to mention RB’s school code (313) when they give blood at any Lifesource donation center. RB can raise scholarship money from Lifesource throughout the whole school year. In addition, students and staff can take part in the next blood drive, which will be held on March 6th. Students who cannot donate blood can still get involved by helping to sign students up to donate prior to the blood drive, or volunteering to help during the blood drive. Students can contact Ziola for more information about how to get involved.
Ziola also emphasizes that donating blood promotes positive behavior in students. “For most students, the experience is positive. We are trying to instill positive behaviors and healthy habits. Donating blood now will hopefully extend beyond high school for students and they will continue to help out locally by regularly giving blood,” she said.
