It’s not every day that students can come to school and have the opportunity to save a life. On January 17th in the mezzanine they were given the chance to do so. Partnering with the American Red Cross, STUCO held an annual blood drive event where students of 16 years and older could donate up to 2 units of blood. Although donating blood is a harmless activity, it can sometimes cause effects of dizziness, small heat flashes and even fainting.

“It definitely is [worth it] because although there might be a little bit of pain involved it doesn’t compare to what other people are going through when they actually need the blood. If you can save lives I’d definitely recommend it,” junior Meya Green said.

Having a blood drive available on school grounds provides an outlet for students who wouldn’t normally think about donating.

“I definitely think that having it in the school environment helps with student participation. I think it gives people the chance to see the place that they are in every day [as a place where they can] volunteer and help the community in a simple way…It’s not out of the way and it’s convenient,” senior Katherine Sebes said.

STUCO made it their goal to collect 47 units of blood to help the American Red Cross and their level of donation inactivity.

“Right now [the American Red Cross is] actually hundreds of units low so this blood drive was just an addition in helping. Those 47 units that we were trying to reach would save a number of lives,” Sebes said.

From 8 a.m. to 3:10 p.m. a total of 52 students and staff members took take time out of their day to donate their blood, potentially saving hundreds of lives.