Donate blood and save three lives.
This sentiment is the driving force for the National Honor Society Blood Drive that has been going on for the past ten years. The triannual Blood Drive was held on August 30 in the New Gym. According to N.H.S. advisor Dee Dee Messer, this is the highest number of donors they’ve had sign up in years.
“We maxed out this time,” Messer said. “We had 97 people sign up. We used to be one of the largest schools to give blood, but we dropped off really low over the last few years to the point (the Hoxworth Blood Center) thought about not coming in anymore. This year they’re trying some new tactics to get people to donate. We’re trying to revitalize it.”
Senior Darby Nabb, co-chair of the drive, said N.H.S. made a better effort this year to raise awareness for the event.
“We made an Instagram and Twitter account to publicize information about how to donate and to convince people to donate,” Nabb said. “We hung posters around the school and had morning announcements. This year we stepped it up.”
Nabb said she was astounded by the event’s success this year and the impact the donations will have.
“Our goal for sign-ups was around 69 people, but we had 97 people sign up which is incredible” Nabb said. “Since one donation can save three lives, we will save around 200 lives from our student body’s dedication.”
Based on Mason’s size, Nabb said they should be able to get even more donations.
“There is another school, Goshen High School that’s smaller than Mason by far, but they get around four times as many donations as we do,” Nabb said. “They work hard so we want to work hard to get those numbers back up.”
First time blood donor Brendan McHugh said despite the nerves that can sometimes arise before giving blood, he is glad he did it.
“It’s nice to get out of class and help save some lives,” McHugh said. ‘I was a little nervous, but I would donate again. It felt good to help out and more people should do it.”
According to Kenny Wilkerson, a Hoxworth Blood Center employee for the past five years, people should donate to help their community.
“The Hoxworth Blood Center goes to a different place everyday,” Wilkerson said. “We go to any business that allows us to come–where people are, we go. Mostly schools during the week. People should donate to help save lives and benefit their community.”
Nabb said that while it’s a choice to donate, the people who receive the blood don’t have a choice.
“The people who receive the blood don’t ask to be sick,” Nabb said. “They didn’t ask for their leukemia diagnosis or any other form of disease. With your help and sacrifice, you can save a life which is an incredible opportunity.”
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