On Wednesday, November 2, Riverside Brookfield high school held a blood drive event. Unlike last year, the event was held in the east gym. Many students and teachers here at RB attend to donate blood annually. Students were asked questions about why they donated and how they felt.

“I’ve really wanted to and I couldn’t last year because I wasn’t old enough. It’s such a good opportunity and it’s really easy. There’s no reason why I shouldn’t,” said Junior Amanda Voth.

Voth, like other students, had a reason or inspiration for donating.

“My aunt had breast cancer and had many blood transfusions; there is also a boy in our neighborhood who has cancer,” said Voth.

Dissimilarly, many students wanted to donate out of the goodness of their heart. The students donating were asked how the experience affected them.

“I was really nervous because I knew it was going to hurt. They couldn’t find the vein in my first arm and it hurt. Then they tried the other arm. It was scary, but I was excited because I was able to donate blood,” said Voth.

Although needles can be intimidating, donators overcame the fear because they knew it was for a good cause.  

“The best thing about donating is that I could possibly save someone’s life,” said Junior Layla Gaughan.