Roses are red,

violets are blue,

you can give blood,

and save a life too!

Every two seconds, someone in the United States needs blood. Right now, there is no substitute for transfusions other than volunteer blood donors. The impact of only minutes of your time is immeasurable to car accident and other trauma victims, cancer and transplant patients, and those with sickle cell disease or other blood disorders.

The Service Council organized an on-campus blood drive on Valentine’s Day, February 14th. The only requirements for prospective student participants were that they must have been at least sixteen, received their parents’ permission, and met certain height and weight requirements. Volunteers earned a free T-shirt, blood drive sticker, and food for their time and dedication to the cause.

Eleanor Corbin (‘20) helped check donors in and answer their questions. She explained, “I chose to volunteer because although I’m not old enough to donate blood, I still want to make a difference in any way I can. I want to show how age doesn’t matter when it comes to helping others. When I turn sixteen, I’m definitely going to give my blood.”

Garrett Revelli (‘20) is one of 6.8 million annual American blood donors. While waiting in line, he said, “Since I meet all the age, height, and weight requirements, I thought, ‘why not?’ Also the announcement said there was going to be free food, so I get to eat while doing something good to help the community.”

Riya Metya (‘18), Co-Chair of the Service Council, commented, “I’m really happy with the record-breaking number of sign-ups we have gotten for this year! We succeeded in getting more faculty to participate this year in the blood drive. Also, considering it’s CIF week and a lot of our girls who want to participate don’t hit the weight requirement, it’s been a great turnout.”

So for those who are on the fence about participating next year, remember: blood is meant to circulate. Share yours around!