Donating blood can save a life, so students, staff and hospital volunteers help the cause by participating in the annual Blood Drive.
“It’s for a good cause, and even though I’m scared of needles, it’s worth it in the end,” Melanie Brokke (12) said.
Student volunteers are an important aspect to the Blood Drive, making sure the event runs smoothly.
“[Today we are] running a table for the blood drive. We sit here and sign people out after they’re done donating and provide snacks and water for them,” Jocelynn Cheesebourough (12) said.
People who donate blood donate one pint. In the bigger picture, an average red blood cell transfusion is approximately three pints, so every donation helps.
“We have around 3,000 students here so we can actually end up helping a lot of people if we can get a lot of students to donate,” Mrs. Rhonda York, English, said.
The Blood Drive would not be made possible without the service of the phlebotomists.
“Twenty percent of the nation’s blood supply comes from high schools and college students so it’s a big deal to come to high schools for [donations],” Jeanette Hay, Red Cross, said.
The Red Cross has been coming to Lake Central for many years to give students and staff the chance to donate blood.
“[I feel it’s important to come to high schools] because it gives the high schoolers a chance to understand how important it is to [donate blood] and volunteer to do something for someone else and not know who [the blood is] going to,” Roger Voshall, Red Cross, said.
